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Raise Your Game: When do you start to train for an event like the Marathon de Sables?

Molly Melhuish: I train continuously, but the main training schedule starts about six months before the race, and at that point I start running marathons again.

RYG: How do you manage your time effectively to ensure that you're fully prepared?

MM: I know when the major marathons are, so I know, for instance, that during the last weekend in October I'll be doing the Snowdonia marathon on the Saturday and the Dublin marathon on the Monday. If I know I'm running those races, I then know that I'll need a couple of easier weeks before I pick the training back up again.

RYG: What sort of training do you need to do in order to condition yourself for the environment?

MM: Running on roads doesn't help at all, so I have to go cross country running. If I put myself in for a race on the weekend, it wouldn't generally be a road race, I would make it a cross country run.

I've also trained up at the sand dunes in Merthyr Mawr, but the sand in the desert is completely different. It's totally dry sand and it's like running on a completely different surface.

RYG: Do you modify your diet when you're nearing an event?

MM: I know that I'll need a minimum of 2000 calories a day and that I'll have to carry all my food with me, therefore, I have to train with that in mind and make sure that I'd tried every type of food I was going to take.

Normally I might eat fruit, but I know that I'm not going to be eating fruit during the race, so I have to train myself to eat dried fruit every day just to get used to it. Breakfast changes to either eating cereal or to eating cereal bars.

I just end up changing my diet a little bit at a time. Most of my muscle preparation is going to be done beforehand, so I need a certain amount of protein per day, but mainly I just need the right amount of calories to keep me going during the race.

RYG: What would you typically consume during a stage in the Marathon de Sables?

MM: A typical race day would start with a cereal bar and a fruit bar with a cup of tea for breakfast. During the race I'll eat a packet of nuts, a tracker bar and a packet of dried fruit.

When I get back to the camp after each stage of the race I'll eat some couscous with pepperami. Later on in the evening, I'll have more couscous with pepperami. If I get to camp by five o clock I'll have food then, and I'll eat again at about nine o clock.

The main thing is to ensure the right amount of calories because we're going to be burning about 6000 calories a day, and I'll need a minimum of 2000.

RYG: Do you eat everything at specific times of the day?

MM: I have low blood sugar so I know I need to eat something every 30 minutes. If I was in a normal run in this country, I'd say I need five jelly babies every 30 minutes because I know that'll keep me going, but I'm not taking any to the desert with me because they'll melt in the heat!

RYG: Do you schedule stops for food breaks?

MM: When I've done other races in the past I have scheduled stops, but I find that if you stop it's really hard to get going again. Some people find that they can stop and they can get going again, but that doesn't work for me. If I stop I've had it!

I've got food in my pockets so I'll keep going and when I get to the checkpoints I'll get my water, fill my bladder (water pouch) and keep moving.

RYG: How do you sort and prepare each daily allowance of food?

MM: I put it all in little plastic freezer bags, so each day I know I've got my evening meal in one freezer bag and my snacks in another freezer bag. My rucksack has got little pockets on the straps, so I'll put my daily food into those pockets, so that I can easily pick them out as I'm going along.

RYG: What equipment do you need for running in the desert?

MM: I need a pair of trail running shoes and a pair of gators, which are almost like socks, that totally cover my shoes to stop any sand getting in. I'm going to be wearing shorts and a t-shirt, but I may end up wearing long bottoms just to stop getting burnt in the sunshine. I've also got a couple of hats that completely cover my head and a pair of sand goggles, in case there's a sand storm.

There are jeeps and helicopters all around, but they don't carry anything for us. They give us water at every checkpoint which is roughly every two hours. I'll have to make sure I've drunk all my remaining water before I reach each checkpoint because I don't want to be carrying any extra weight.

I have to make my water last between stops, so I plan when I'm going to get to the next checkpoint in order to work out how many miles I'm doing per hour for instance.

RYG: How heavy is your rucksack when it's full?

MM: My rucksack is going to be one of the lighter ones and, when I weighed it yesterday, it was about nine and a half to ten kilograms in weight, which is really quite light compared to some people's.

RYG: What vaccinations and additional antibiotics do you need for the race?

MM: We're supposed to take malaria tablets and have a couple of injections. One of the essential items on my race preparation list is an anti-venom pump in case I get bitten, but it's very unlikely that I'll see a snake!

RYG: Do they supply shower/washing facilities?

MM: There are no toilets so you just squat down where you stand. I've taken my own loo roll with me so I can wipe and dry anything such as my cutlery, if I need to do so. It's essential that you take a lighter, as you have to burn your own loo roll after you've used it, and if you poo, you just have to bury it in the sand.

There are no washing facilities. All I've got is a flannel and I'm going to put water on it each day to wash my face. I've also got a shower cap and I'm going to fill it with water to bathe my feet each day, to give my feet a soak. I've brought along a toothbrush and toothpaste, but a lot of people don't take them because it adds more weight to their packs.

RYG: What precautions or additional equipment must you take to ensure hygiene and to avoid infection?

MM: I've run lots of marathons, so I'm used to what works for me. I've got blister plasters and I'm going to wrap every toe and the arch off my foot in a plaster before I start. I will also wear two pairs of really thin socks. Some people use thick socks, but I prefer thin ones as I aim to burn them after use, so that I've got a clean pair each day.

When your sweat dries your sock goes really hard and it can rub against your skin and I don't want to risk that happening. I've got a dry antiseptic spray, so if I do get blisters, and I will get them, I can slice off the top of the blister, spray it with the dry antiseptic and then I'll cover it with duck tape to stop it getting infected.