Racing across the Sahara
September 03, 2008 | Women's Rowing
What do you do for fun' Go hiking' Play video games' Make quilts' Catch a movie' For one former Wisconsin rower, racing across the Sahara Desert might be the answer. Seriously. Susan Jones, a May 2008 Wisconsin graduate, is going to do just that this October.
One of the races in the 4 Deserts racing series, which you've probably never heard of, the Sahara Race begins Oct. 26 and is a seven-day, six-stage, 250-kilometer race (about 155 miles). It is one of a series that includes the Gobi March in China, the Atacama Crossing in Chile and the Last Desert in Antarctica. They are billed as the driest, hottest, windiest and coldest places on Earth. If you feel like doing the Antarctica race, make sure you complete two of the three others as that is considered qualifying for what presumably takes the title in the series as the coldest place on Earth.
Jones, who got special permission from Ross University, the veterinary school she is going to be attending in January, will be racing as part of a four-person team dubbed 'Memento Vivere.' Made up of Susan; Susan's sister, Barbara; Matt, a medical student; and her sister's friend, Amber Langley, the group isn't just doing the race for fun. Each is hoping to raise money for charity.
The team got its start when Langley decided to do something about her sister Emily 's passing. Emily passed away at the age of 23 due to Friedrick's Ataxia, a disease that falls under the umbrella of the Muscular Dystrophy Association's research efforts (Read more about Emily's tear-jerking story and find out more about the team's efforts in the pdf below.).
When putting together the team, Amber found out about Susan's past history racing at the American Birkenbeiner (the annual cross country ski race in Wisconsin) and the Great Midwest Relay (a two-day, 190-mile relay race from Madison to Chicago via Milwaukee) and thought she might be a perfect teammate.
For this race, those taking part carry their gear, food and clothing, while the race takes care of the water, the tents for sleeping and the medical assistance. For Susan and her sister, they will have special medical care as their father, a doctor, will be volunteering at the event and checking up on two of his eight children to make sure they survive the ordeal.
Jones was a rower at Wisconsin for two years, but an old wrist injury, one bad enough that pins were necessary to correct, resurfaced during her rowing days. Instead of continuing rowing and risking having to have her wrist fused, Jones changes roles with the program and became a team manager for head women's openweight coach Bebe Bryans. In that role, she drove Bryans around the lake for practice and pretty much did whatever was necessary to help the program.
Now, Jones has already paid the $2,900 entry fee out of her own pocket and will be part of an atypical team taking part in one of the races. The average age for a participant, according to the race Web site is 38. Also, 80 percent of participants are male.
To train for the event, Jones has been putting in miles whenever she can and taking part in events like Race the Lake, a 93-mile bike race around Wisconsin's Lake Winnebago.
'I don't think you can ever feel like you are ready for a race like this,' said Jones. 'You just do what you can.'
You can follow Susan's progress leading up to and during the race at the 4 deserts Web site with her and her pid=MjIz&blog=9"> --> teammates' blog .
Catch video of Susan's interview about the race mid=2441"> --> here at UWBadgers.com .
