GSK Supports Runner Training for Toughest Footrace on Earth

The Toughest Footrace on Earth

By Heather Hummel

Most of us our inclined to help others.  Some of us donate time to volunteer  for charities, and others of us donate money or items that charities also need to keep moving forward.  But how many of us would take on the challenge of running through the desert for 6 days to help raise money and awareness for a charity? Probably not too many of us.

Kate Eversole, Founder; Head of Partnerships, PatientsCreate, has accepted the challenge. Next month she will be running the Marathon des Sables (MdS), ranked by the Discovery Channel as the toughest footrace on earth.  The MdS is a multi-day ‘ultra-marathon’ or ‘ultra’ run in six days over a course of between 150 and 156 miles (254km).  Through the Sahara desert.  Where the temperature can exceed 120 degrees (50 degrees C).  And runners are required to be self-sufficient, carrying all their food, water and equipment.

After running the London Marathon in 2012, Kate entered MdS and got a space.  Looking back, she now thinks she must have been in a post race high after the marathon.  But she's preparing to take on the challenge and has been able to work out a rigorous training schedule, which has had to fit around her 50 - 60 hour work week.

Kate in Training

Luckily, to help with her training, she's spent the last few months being a lab rat for GlaxoSmithKline’s Human Performance Lab, a world class science facility focused on applied and discovery research, combining GSK science expertise, external advisors and cutting edge technology to deepen understanding of human performance.

Working in partnership with people and organizations committed to elite performance, the GSK Human Performance Lab aims to better understand how the body and brain function. This in turn can be used to develop improved training, recovery, nutrition and competition programs for its partners, enabling them to break through the limits of human performance.

Kate and her running team have been working with the GSK Human Performance Lab to better understand how to enhance their marathon performance. Their research has focused on a number of areas including environmental adaptation, hydration and nutrition so that they are ready to compete in the 155 mile, multi-stage Marathon des Sables race across the Sahara desert. Not only that, but the team is being advised on optimum recovery strategies to ensure that they can push themselves on a repeated basis.

To see how the important work MENCAP does to impact lives, please visit http://www.mencap.org.uk
To learn more about the Marathon des Sables, please visit http://www.marathondessables.co.uk

To sponsor Kate on her journey to challenge herself and raise money for MENCAP, please visit http://www.justgiving.com/Kate-Eversole2

120-degrees f? Carry your food & water ? No problem.