Page 69 - The Royal Lancers Chapka 2018

REGIMENTAL JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL LANCERS (QUEEN ELIZABETHS’ OWN) 67 Wadi Rum Ultra Marathon
This year three Lancers competed in the Wadi Rum Ultra Marathon in the Jordanian desert. This is a 250 kilome- tre (six marathons) multi stage desert race run over five days. Temperatures were a sizzling 30-40 degrees. It is run on flat open plains between stunning rock formations and features, partly on soft energy-sapping sand and partly on firmer gritty terrain.
Fresh from a week of post Operation TOSCA leave and the team were ready and raring to go. All the warnings were heard and duly ignored. Do not run too fast early on. Ease into it and see how you feel. Not so for Team Royal Lancer. The first stage started in a mad gallop (and we were not alone). Captain Anani- Isaac seemed to be trying to set a new world record in the first ten kilometres. This set a trend that continued throughout. For him every stage was part of the Tour de France, every day was Bastille Day; and he was a Frenchman. Magnificently, he would set the pace each day, charging out in front hunting for glory. Of- ten this unfortunately ended in him being caught, mouth askew, eyes wild, drenched in sweat with his flowing gait reduced to a faltering shuffle. But with many a ‘stage win’ under his belt, it is clear that if there a Le Prix de la combativé in this event, it would certainly be his. He lost over nine kilograms during the race; a testament to the effort he put in.
Needless to say, there were many soaring highs and crashing lows. The team all rode the suffer bus, occasionally hopping on the pain train before clocking in some time in the hurt locker. For example, Second Lieutenant Free and Henson both record- ed peak core temperatures of 40.1 degrees (thankfully only mo- mentarily) on the day the group swallowed micro-thermometers. The author will not bore you with a blow-by-blow account here; he finds that this is only possible when someone is trapped next to him at a dinner party or on a long train journey. Particular highlights include the long day, a 70km stage halfway through the week. Starting in the dark and running as the sun rose was certainly a very special experience. Another was when the team sat around an iPad to watch a couple of episodes of Friends on a night when we were staying on a rock shelf overlooking the desert. While not at all the sort of thing we were there to enjoy, howling with laughter at some nineties humour is a strong tonic for sore legs.
We met with some strong competition from an inspiring and in- teresting multinational field. Our training in Cyprus had served us well however and we were able to hold our own. Captain Hen-
Captain Anani-Isaac leading the charge
son was among a group of three who were separated by only six minutes and fighting for second place after the penultimate stage behind the eventual champion (ex-Marathon Des Sables cham- pion Salameh Al Aqra). Due to fortunate circumstances he was able to peak at just the right time to take the final day and se- cure second place. Second Lieutenant Free was fifth and Cap- tain Anani-Isaac thirteenth rounding off a highly successful race for the team.
Overall this is a very special event that is entirely achievable and 100% the best way to see one of the most stunning places on the planet. We hope that we have set a trend and will see many future generations of Lancers compete and enjoy this event as we did.
CNGH
2nd Lieutenant Free dark and stormy
Captain Henson flying the flag The biggest smiles of the week... thank God it is over