I met Denis last year at the MDS in Morocco. You always hear that the people you meet at the MDS will be your friends for life, and Denis is a fine example of this. When we arrived at the first Bivouac, we walked around looking for a tent and found Denis sitting alone in tent 124b and asked if we could pull in. We all hit it off right away and a friendship was born.
On the double marathon stage I had a really hard time getting through the 82km and after 33 hours I could finally see the Bivouac in the distance. Most of the runners have been in camp for about 10-12 hours before I arrived, and my tent mates thought that I must have dropped out of the race due to the state of my feet as I had some serious blisters and infection going on. Not Denis, he went to the admin table to check if they have my name down as DNF, however, I was still out there heading back towards camp, 1 slow step at a time. As I got to within 2km or so from camp I spotted a lone figure in the distance walking towards me, I when I realized it was the mad Irishman Denis I could not believe my eyes. Denis got permission from the organisers to walk me in the last couple of km`s and that lifted my spirt so much, and I believe that act of kindness did a lot to get me the the eventual finishing line of the MDS. You don`t meet people like Denis everyday, and I am stoked to be able to call him friend!
In 2011 Denis will have another crack at the Marathon des Sables and attempt to put some demons of the 2010 MDS to rest. I know you can do it buddy, and use my motto of 2010....Never, Never, Never Ever Quit. One mile at a time. Below is a link to Denis`s blog, have a look and support Denis in his quest to conquer MDS 2011.
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