Lawyer Lee Quinn is getting back into the normal routine of West Kirby life after completing the toughest physical and mental challenge of his life.
Lee, 40, ran an astonishing 257 kilometres in six days last month to complete the Marathon des Sables, a brutally difficult endurance test through the sandhills and salt flats of the Sahara desert.
It was the longest race in the 31 year history of the MdS, made even more gruelling by high winds and sand storms, but Lee fought through to finish in 327th place, raising £7,856.64 for his chosen Neuroblastoma charity.
Lee spent 18 months preparing for the MdS, running in marathons and other endurance races, and spending nine sessions in a special environmental chamber at John Moores University to prepare his body for running in the extreme heat of the desert.
“It was tough,” admitted Lee, with typical understatement, when West Kirby Today caught up with him to talk about his experiences in Morocco. “I completely trashed my feet on day one of the race and I would then have to visit “doc trotters” daily to clean my feet, pop my new blisters and strap them up for the next day.”
Having flown into Morocco Lee and his fellow runners were taken out into the desert to the tents that would be their home for the run, spending two nights and one admin day at base camp before starting the race on day three, to the tune of AC/DC’s ‘Highway to Hell’.
“They played it at the start of every day, and I’ll never listen to it again without those memories flooding back,” said Lee.
He said that was critical to his success in the race that he had managed to choose the right tent mates.
“It might sound a little strange, but the last thing you need when dealing with the stresses of the MdS is to have tent mates who are ill-prepared and needy. That could zap your energy even more.
“My tent mates in 151, Simon J, Rory, Simon D, Darren, Paul and Tim, are a rock solid bunch of blokes. We shared laughs along the way and they totally took away some of the pressures this race puts on you.”
The runners were battered by strong winds and sand storms on the first day, leading to an unusually high drop out rate before day two. The conditions meant that the 31st MdS was not only the longest, but also in the opinions of many race veterans, the hardest yet.
Recalled Lee: “Along with the physical side of the race, if you’re not used to camping out, eating freeze dry foods, drinking really warm water, and being dirty and smelly for a week then the MdS is not for you.
“It is a rewarding race in so many ways that cant really be explained as it is very much a personal journey. Anyone wanting to push themselves outside of the box then I can’t recommend the MdS enough.
“It’s expensive, it’s tough…it’s the best physical and mental challenge I have overcome to date.
“The race has created lifelong memories and friendships as this race cements those bonds through its hardship and good times – and there are many.”
Back home in West Kirby, wife Amy kept track of Lee’s progress online and kept his family, friends and supporters up to date. And that support was massively important.
“I couldn’t believe how much support I had back home and this really helped me pull through in my dark times in the race.
“My wife kept everyone up to date and money just flooded into the fund-raising for Neuroblastoma fighting children’s cancer. I’ve raised over £7850 and I just want to thank all those people who helped with this.”
Next up for Lee? He says he will be devoting more time to his family now and next year, but is already thinking of launching on another adventure – either an Amazon jungle endurance race or scaling one of the world’s highest mountains – in 2018.
