Becoming a Titan

A couple of weeks ago I wrote an article talking about how I was participating in the Titan Desert 2019 race; and now, here I am, fresh from Morocco and proud to say that I finished. First off, I want to express my thanks to my family and friends for always being by my side, supporting me, pushing me and giving me strength in the hardest moments; It is because of them that I was not only able to finish the race, but also finish in the 49th place.

The mental aspect of this race pushes people to their limits 

For this particular race, the hardest challenge was not physical, despite the harsh environment, crashes and being stranded in the middle of a vast dune sea (we’ll talk about that in a bit). The real challenge for this race was the mental aspect. A lot of times people get stuck in a stressful state of mind where they are constantly thinking of their position and time, and then push themselves far too much. I’m sure some people broke after succumbing to their body’s screams of “TIME TO STOP!” and there is no shame in that. I would not be surprised if some people broke during the race just from the sheer nothingness we were confronted with.  While you ride, it is 5 to 6 hours of just riding, no music, no social media, or phone calls, nothing that we usually depend on in our day to day to entertain ourselves; and most of the time you are completely alone with just the sound of your bike and your breathing.

After each grueling day, I found a new appreciation for the little things in life.

The mix of pressure and emptiness breaks some people, but for some like me, it can be a spiritual experience. From the very first day I felt this amazing freedom with no worldly distractions, just me, my bike and the desert; and throughout the six days I found the gift of time and solace. I thought of my life in a whole new sense, I thought about work, and the solutions to problems came to me in a quicker and more definite way than they do back home.  

The camp, for which I have to commend the Titan organization on, was always perfectly moved and set up. They made it so that after every race, we could have as much food and drink as we needed, in comfort. We also had showers and laundry stations set up to wash away the sand, dirt and sweat. Every necessity was provided to the participants including food for recovery, but I only accepted their water in order to stay true to my diet. As I mentioned in my previous article, Natural Athlete products were key to my nourishment and recovery both during and after each ride. It is thanks to the products I brought that I was able to stay away from refined carbs. In the camp, I mainly ate eggs with the Natural Athlete beef jerky. Furthermore, every afternoon to aid my recovery, I had the Natural Athlete whey protein powder mixed with water and natural peanut butter. I also had our Natural Athlete nutrition bars throughout the ride. In the end, considering what was provided and my own food, the camp was no five-star hotel, but after each ride, everything about it felt like the greatest blessing, from a simple glass of water, to a comfortable seat at a table with my team and friends. I realized after everything that I found peace, and appreciation for all we have back home.  

That peace and appreciation was hard earned though… As advertised, the race was not easy.

During the course of the six days, my pace was good, always finishing within the top 100 participants, and sometimes pathways were a blessing for us riders; but more often than not we had to dismount and run up sandy dunes in order to get an edge or in order to maintain our positions. Accidents were also a constant hindrance. At this point in my life, I would go so far as to say that I am an experience rider, but even so, I had two crashes: One on the 5th day where I escaped with scrapes and bruises, and another on the 6th day, with which I cracked one of ribs. In fact, as I write this right now, the pain from my rib injury is flaring and it will get worse before it gets better.  

Apart from the injuries, I also got lost on the second day. I was 15kms away from the finish line and in an attempt to advance my time, I tried to cut through the path. Unfortunately, I hit large dunes and my pace was slowed down significantly. I made this shortcut initially with another participant in front of me and one behind me… After a few minutes, I was completely alone, and I stayed completely alone for 20 minutes. I eventually collected myself and after a while I decided to backtrack. I found a huge dune which I climbed and once on the top I surveyed the surroundings and saw nothing but sand. I stayed on that dune a while, until suddenly I heard a man screaming and in the distance of maybe 2km, I saw him. Still dismounted due to the dunes, I made my way towards him and found that he was worse off than I was. He was crying and despairing for he was also lost. We decided to keep heading back together and eventually found 3 more lost participants. To our relief we all made it back to the right path and eventually to the finish line. In total I lost 40 minutes due to the mistake, but my time was my last concern when I crossed the finish line that day, I was just happy to finish. So, I can say without a single doubt, that the race had its fair share of challenges to overcome.

The journey’s end

The feeling as I crossed that last finish line, was overwhelming. In the moment it was as if I felt every emotion a human can feel at the same time and even now It is hard to describe it, because I do not believe that feelings as potent as that can be given justice with words. The only way I can put it, is that after I crossed the finish line, knowing all I had to do to get to that point… I felt like a Titan, and in that moment, I know all my fellow participants felt the same way. 

Before I wrap up this article I’d like to once again extend my condolences to the family and friends of Fernando Civera who unfortunately passed away during the race, the Titan organization and I’m sure all the other participants are also sending them their love and prayers.

So there you have it! Thank you again for all the support from everyone, and now, on to the next adventure!