INGENUITY AFOOT
A sleeping mat adapted
into featherweight
flipflops. Removing your
running shoes at day’s
end is vital to allow
your feet to dry and to
address any damage to
nails or skin which might
later become a far more
consequential injury.RUBBING IT IN
A competitor gets
help taping up
against chafing – a
major concern for
ultrarunners. Pro athlete
Michael Wardian has
a MDS podium to his
name. He recalls a
particularly low moment
during the Ultra Gobi:
“I‘d just had diarrhoea
for the 10th time in
the first three hours.
I was out of toilet
paper and had to use
my arm sleeves and
my body was chafed
so much that it was
bleeding and painful. I
would run three steps
and have to reapply
lubrication because of
the heat and humidity.”PHOTOS: ALEXIS BERG/MDS 2017 (TOP & LEFT); MARTA BACARDIT/MDS 2017 (RIGHT)
55March/April 2018 —