Marathon des Sables: Hong Kong pair prepare for desert race with 42 laps of Repulse Bay before work
- Duncan Swanson and George Darling run monotonous laps of Hong Kong’s beaches to recreate desert conditions
- The pair are raising money for charity Suicide & Co in memory of Swanson’s father
The beaches of Hong Kong are stunning. But after running a half marathon back and forth along the same stretch of sand, they lose their appeal.
That’s exactly what two of the city’s residents, Duncan Swanson and George Darling, are doing in preparation for the Marathon des Sables (MDS), the infamous desert race that is as much a mental challenge as a physical one.
Competitors must tackle 250km over six days, with the longest leg needing runners to do 86km in one day, mix that in with blazing hot sand and sun, and running around the city’s beaches doesn’t seem quite so bad.
The 27 year olds head to Morocco in less than a month for the race, during which they will need to carry their own supplies, sleep out in the desert at night and run on soft sand during the day.
And so, Swanson and Darling are hitting the beaches when they can. One morning they completed 42 laps of Repulse Bay before work, took a swim then headed to the office.
