Sweat and sand

When they reached the finishing line at the Oman Dive Centre at around 2pm on Saturday, the participants of Dune-Up 2011 looked weary but immensely satisfied and cheerful. 

Not everyone among the 17 participants could finish all the tasks – the event included cycling, hiking and running – but it was not about winning or losing but about challenging themselves physically and enjoying the beauty of the terrain.

“It was one of the best experiences of my life, pushing myself to get the most out of my body, being around good people and sleeping under the stars,” said Martin Kriewald from Germany.

As expected, it was not all fun in the hot sun. Martin Trier, the organiser of Dune-Up, said, “One of the primary issues is stamina. We had a lot of mountain biking and running to do.

Having taken part in the event myself, I can tell you that I was almost ready to quit after just two days and follow in the cars that were accompanying us.” But the group motivated him to keep going and that was exactly what he did.

Participants faced numerous problems. “Sometimes we would be running or biking when the temperature was 70 degree Fahrenheit,” said Trier. “That saps away energy really fast,” added Mark Hohe-Dorst, a triathlon expert from Germany. 

Most participants, being from Europe, also had trouble dealing with the unfamiliar topography. “We have almost never dealt with this kind of geography before. The mountains here are jagged and very tough to navigate and we have never come across such deep wadis.

So when you negotiate this terrain, it makes you slightly nervous,” said Hohe-Dorst. 

A couple of people fell ill and couldn’t compete in all the events. They also had to do without cold beverages, as they didn’t have any refrigeration system. “We also had minor stoppages here and there, because of technical problems,” said Trier. 

What motivated them to overcome these obstacles and complete all the physical challenges was the fact that they were in a group. “When you are pushing yourself to the limit, you need someone motivating you constantly. It is nice to have company when you spend a large part of the day cycling or running,” said Kriewald.

“We also had tonnes of fun. We spent every night camping and sharing anecdotes. The last day was almost all about relaxation by the campfire and catching our breath. We feel we achieved a lot in these nine days,” said Hohe-Dorst.

He also believes that the second edition of Dune-Up has prepared the ground for similar events in the future. “With this Dune-Up, we identified all the problems that we are likely to face during such an adventure. For example, we realise that the next time, we will probably organise something like a preparatory camp here.

Some of our participants like Mark (Hohe-Dorst), Dietrich (Sullman), Vicki (Grunicke) and Martin (Kriewald) are athletes, so they can help other participants prepare,” he said.

He was sure that they would organise the event regularly in future since Oman is a perfect place for adventure tourism. “The important thing is also that we marvelled at the beauty of Oman and realised that all the effort that we put in was worth it.”