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The MDS is one of the most iconic

ultra races in the world.

It's the one race that a lot of

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multi-day ultramarathons base themselves on.

The margins are so small,
on whether you finish or don't.

It's renowned as the hardest foot race on earth.

There is always the risk
that something could happen.

You have to make sure
everything is in place, just in case.

Every part of me wants to stop

and I can't cool down.

There's one goal

and it's to get from A to B, as quickly as possible.

And ideally not die halfway through it.

One simple mistake here, your race is over.

Everything's about extremities.

One of the major systems for me,

is this all or nothing approach.

Basically, the more I mess myself up,

the longer I feel better.

I did it!

No you didn't.

Arthur, you want the first one?

Yeah.

Do you like making your pancakes?

I do, I like making pancakes.

So, I've known Simon for,

probably, nearly five years.

I found out he was into running,

probably within the first five minutes

of my interview with him.

It was quite clear from first meeting him

that he's all or nothing.

You know, he's all in, basically, with everything.

After knowing Simon, he does have those, kind of,

attributes, whereby, if he wants something,

he will go out and get it.

So I first met Simon in Peru, on our jungle ultra.

I think it was his first multi-day, at the time.

So it was a big step up for him.

He started off as a client and he's become

a really good friend of mine over the years.

My name's Simon Blair, I'm a business owner.

I was diagnosed with a ADHD, middle of last year.

It's been a journey since then.

But I've got three children and I'm an ultra runner.

So the Marathon des Sables is the one in the desert.

Oh.

I don't want you to do that.

Why don't you want me to do that?

Because you're gonna be gone for, like, ever.

I'm gonna be gone forever?

Yeah.

Taking forever.

Actually, daddy probably doesn't know, when he's away,

what do we do when we come home from school

and before we leave?

What do we do on the computer?

We look where you are.

We track where you are.

So you look at where my little dot is moving.

Yeah.

Yeah.

And panic when it hasn't moved.

Yeah.

Or it's in the wrong place.

I don't think he's gonna make it to the finish line.

He can make it close.

Why do you not think that daddy's gonna make it?

He didn't make the last one.

'Cause you didn't make the last one.

I think what Flo is trying to say,

is, that she thinks you will make it

but if you don't, that that's okay too.

Is that right Flora?

Yeah, definitely.

In 2021, post-pandemic,

I went and tried to complete the Marathon des Sables.

But I think, with some honesty,

I probably wasn't quite mentally match fit.

I think it's taken me this long to build myself up

to a point where I feel mentally resilient enough

to go back to the scene of the original crime.

There's always a danger in terms of doing these

kind of things.

As his family's concerned,

I would've thought that Faye
is probably the one who's got

the most, sort of, issues over it.

A big concern for me, is,

Simon being filmed while doing this.

It's like an extra pressure.

And when he starts his run, we have no contact at all.

It is just relying on the tracker to see where he is.

I am not settled until he is past that finish line

and then I'm like, fine.

I worry.

The children miss him.

I think when people think
about deserts, they think about,

you know, rolling sand dunes and sandstorms.

Some things are far more
terrifying than sandstorms

and rolling sand dunes.

Nothingness is more scary than that.

People with Simon's personality type,

with Simon's brain, need this.

They need this in their life, to be able to function

and to be the best version of themselves.

To keep pushing and keep succeeding.

About five or six years ago, I took on therapy.

I woke up one day and I just didn't feel great.

I, you know, had that brain fog

and that veil of, just a shade over my normal lens,

you know, my positive lens.

And I, you know, I went and sought therapy

and some advice, straight away.

For me, it's been the best thing

that I've ever done, really, for myself.

So Simon's diagnosis came about

because I'd been doing a
lot of mental health education

with his team.

So he'd got to know and trust me.

He recognized that he can be
quite impulsive and energetic

and that's been a real strength at work.

But at times it meant that he was distracted

or struggled to focus or other people would say,

you know, "You're not paying attention.

You forget details and things, you know".

It's hard sometimes to be
all over the detail of things.

But her opening up that discussion, for me,

led to me getting tested.

Not surprisingly, it came back fairly clear.

I think it was both a shock and not a shock, really.

I think he was relieved, actually.

I think he knew.

I think it was just having a label,

so he could say, right, now I understand.

I think ADHD has been a part of my character

for as long as my memories go back.

It's only just recently that I've realized

how central to my being that that is.

Yeah, I think it made sense of a lot of things for him.

The results have been around
the idea of understanding.

There aren't solutions.

There's no solutions.

I think, you know, taking drugs

to try and help certain
byproducts of ADHD, is an option.

I haven't explored that.

For me, it's given me a much
greater understanding about

who I am.

It's just confirmed something that I probably,

subconsciously already knew.

And now I'm embracing
that, as like a central principle

to what I am.

It's interesting to think, why would Simon,

who's really successful at work,

want to punish himself out in the desert?

But, my understanding, just as a spectator,

you know, these ultramarathons,
is, it's a real chance to,

kind of, almost take yourself right to the edge.

To find out what you're capable of.

To really find out where,

you know, failure lies.

And that's very healthy for the ego.

It's really good for the ego to be tested in that way.

Search for balance is now become what

I'm aspiring to try and find and retain.

But, I can't, a lot of the time

because it's just not natural for that to happen.

So the extremities of what
ADHD can do to you mentally,

is that it pulls you one way or the other,

just in the most fierce ways.

He's always gonna be a driven guy

and this is just a vessel to keep that drive going.

Part of me dreads this event.

Looking down those long straits

and visualizing the sand dunes and

just the memories of the overwhelming heat.

He was facing, probably one of the hottest years

that race has ever had.

It was a flip of a coin,

as to whether he was going to finish.

In any race, in extreme heat.

There's a few things that
kinda jump out straight away.

The Sahara Desert, the Namib Desert,

can often go, 45, 50 degree heat.

With that comes real risk of death

by, heat stroke, dehydration.

And it can happen extremely quickly.

I had the unfortunate experience of

running next to this guy,
running almost parallel to him,

when he was collapsing repeatedly.

I went to help him.

There were some other people there who were doctors.

10, 15 minutes later, I saw
a helicopter fly over my head.

There was a very solemn, somber
announcement that evening.

It was announced he'd died,

as a result of being on the course.

I was messaging the company,
going, "Is Simon Blair okay?

I'm Simon Blair's wife".

I hadn't heard anything.

It was playing on my mind a great deal.

'Cause I was already extremely tired

and I had nothing left to give,

without taking some serious risks.

And I decided that the best thing for me,

would be to go home.

When he rang me and said,

"I'm not gonna carry on", I burst into tears

'cause I knew what he would be like if he didn't do it.

I'd never seen him like that,

after he got back from the MDS with that failure.

I'd never seen that Simon before.

That was unusual to witness, as a friend.

As a family, we kept saying

how proud we were of him, regardless.

But, after the Marathon des
Sables, he was really quite low.

Anyone with ADHD, which I also have, will know that,

you know, that we've all got this, kind of, fixation

on certain things and obsessions.

And, you know, running in
ultramarathon's are one of his.

And, I think, him actually pulling out,

is probably braver than continuing.

So I think, actually, full credit to him for going,

do you know what, this is getting dangerous,

now I'm gonna pull it.

I suppose, I was actually proud that he stopped.

Because, although I wanted him to continue,

I mean, that would've been
really dangerous and very stupid.

The whole process is quite long

and, you know, all the measuring out of

various powders and potions.

And then you see it in this form

and you're, kind of, like, yeah, okay.

We're kind of, one step closer to being ready to go

with day one.

A lot of sweets.

Lots of sweets, yes, day one, day two, day three,

day four, day five and day six.

And a little medical stuff.

Just in case you get hurt.

Just in case you get hurt, yes.

The first bit really is the, it's the logistics.

You hear stories and jokes about people

cutting their toothbrush in half.

But people do.

Because it saves you a few grams.

It's a huge commitment.

Oh, yes, that's perfect.

There's a lot of planning

that goes into the successful completion of a race.

People with ADHD are often great in a crisis

but not so good in something

that needs a lot of preparation.

I've got a lost box.

Memory.

You know, memory and retention,

forgetting where I put things.

I often forget my children's birthdays.

I just don't remember.

The memory issues around ADHD are brutal.

A surprising number of
people find themselves getting

an ADHD diagnosis.

They've actually gone to the GP saying,

I think I might have dementia.

Yeah, memory issues are really common.

I think, also, he's got so much going on in his head.

He goes from one thing to another.

So trying to, kind of, keep up with him

and keep him focused on what he's doing,

at one thing at a time, well, it's quite hard.

The biggest problem he'll have,

is that he's turning his world upside down

to get this done.

He's extremely messy.

Being CEO of a company

and you're running an ultramarathon,

they are not two things, they easily combine.

A lot of people with ADHD,

they've put in, sometimes, knowingly,

sometimes, unknowingly,
scaffolding and strategies

that have them doing well.

He has got very good at writing, like,

a spreadsheet, that he follows.

So he will send me that spreadsheet

and we just have to tick it off.

If you don't put it in place,
with real knowledge of self,

it's too finely balanced, not to fail.

To get ready for any of these things, sacrifices a lot.

And the support network around Simon

is also gonna feel it.

His work colleagues, his
family, it's all encompassing

and, kind of, just consumes your life.

In the run up to these events, you know,

I'm running and focusing on other things

and my emotional and physical
time just isn't as present.

One of the downsides of ADHD is that it can make you

so intent on getting to your objective,

that actually, it can be
difficult for people around that.

When you're fully hyper-focused.

There's a lot of problems
that Simon will face, with ADHD.

But actually, when preparing
for these sorts of events,

there are a lot of things that could fall in his favor.

The focus and the obsession with something,

is definitely gonna help him.

It's definitely helped him in the past.

When you have three children and then, holidays,

when they're not at school, it's quite hard.

So, I think, actually, to start with, I was a bit like,

well, it's a bit of a desperate measure

to take a break from your family.

I'm not sure that I would be able to do these events

on a number of different levels,

if I wasn't supported in the way that I am at home.

You know, I'm very fortunate in that way.

And my children, you know, have learned from Faye.

I think Faye acknowledges that I'm a better person.

I'm not made to feel guilty for needing to do this.

I think back to my 20s and I
wonder how the fucking hell

I held any relationship down, to be honest, you know

'cause you're just like,

it's so disruptive.

Now he's done a number of them,

it's a bit medicinal, really, I think.

I'm gonna have to dig deep, you know,

I'm aware of that, you know.

I think, running, in its nature, is quite simplistic.

In Simon's case,

I think it definitely brings order to the chaos.

He's got quite a lotta chaos in his world, in his mind.

Even narrowing down the task list for the day,

get from point A to B,

can definitely just calm the noise a little bit.

Thank you very much.

All you've got to do, for seven days,

eat, sleep and run.

What an existence.

One, two.

I mean, for me it just sounds treacherous, to be honest.

So, I can't imagine why he wants to go out and do this.

People fall very ill and
sometimes die on these things.

My brain was bouncing around a bit last night.

I think I'll feel some sense of anxiety,

probably, when I see a sand dune,

even if it's two meters high,

it'll probably make me feel a bit peculiar.

Probably not how I felt at
the beginning of the last one.

It was good.

He won't think this now

but if he doesn't finish, he'll also be okay with it.

I think he's actually at a
point in his journey with this,

where, the result is one thing

but he's realized the journey is important

or he will, quite quickly after.

I think he's putting a lotta pressure on himself.

Unnecessary pressure.

I think sometimes the bravest
thing, is to know your limits.

And I just hope that he does know his limits,

this time around.

He's physically stronger but mentally stronger too.

I think he will be good.

He'll do well.

He better do it, gosh.

So that gives me anxiety.

That thing.

It is a sand dune but, it's not a mountain.

Thing is, it's probably what I thought about a lot.

It's a strange feeling 'cause it's almost dreamlike.

Everybody has a different, sort of, mindset to things.

Some people allow adversity,
previously in their lives,

to affect the decisions that you make going forward.

And some people use that as a position,

in order to turn that into a positive.

I have my own objectives

because I'm looking to discover myself.

I wanna understand me and what makes me tick

and how I operate.

But actually, it's becoming far more than that.

I want to help people open up a dialogue.

ADHD should be looked at as something

that can enable people to
provide positivity to the world.

Not blocking them off and not listening to them

because they don't hit a certain criteria

that we've become used to.

You know, that results in the worst things.

It's getting gradually hotter.

So I'm trying to be really sensible, not gun it,

probably get halfway through tomorrow

and then start thinking about taking some paresis,

while we're trying to be careful with it, with water.

I've been in this game now for two decades.

I've either been running, coaching

or designing these races.

So I've got to see a lot of
people take these journeys on.

Simon is definitely one of those people

that enjoys the highs and the lows.

He wants to be rock bottom.

He wants to be in that pain cave, that misery,

that thing that's gonna ultimately push him

to the absolute limit.

Because he knows and he's experienced it in the past,

that with this low, will become a real high.

The bigger the low, the higher the high.

And it impacts him in a way

that has been ultimately life-changing for him.

I think there needs to be a lot more information

about ADHD and what it is and what it isn't.

I think some people have a

very stereotypical view of somebody with ADHD.

And they think they might
be that loud person at school

or that person that sits and fidgets all day.

But there are different
versions of it for different people

and people will adapt differently.

Predominantly hyperactive is only 15%

of people with ADHD.

It's a significant proportion of women and girls.

And so the idea that it's just a boy

running around, is just wrong.

People often ask me what ADHD is.

And it's one of the ways in which people

can be neurodivergent.

So, neurodiversity means,
basically, brain-based difference.

And it means that you experience the world

in a different way.

How you feel about the world,
how you think about the world.

So it's really common.

And ADHD's about one in 20 adults.

I have done the Marathon des Sables in 2019 and 2022.

I have ADHD.

I tried to explain it to people by saying,

it's like when you have your laptop open,

for most, you know, kind of, typical thinkers,

if they have too many windows
open, it drives them crazy.

I always have that many windows open.

You can get very charged up or very drained,

I think, just a bit more easier than others.

And it's difficult to prioritize, sometimes.

I think it's really important, as society,

to understand that there isn't one-size-fits-all,

with any condition.

There are general symptoms,

some may be positive, some may be negative.

But how a person generally handles it, is up to them.

We're all unique individuals, plus ADHD.

The event is so vast and so big, it's a bit crazy.

So, I'm on a journey to try and control the chaos

and stop the noise in my brain.

And, it's not quite like that here.

Whatever that means.

This isn't just a holiday to
me, this is a necessary part

of my own life journey.

If I don't do these things,

I will not perform at the highest level.

I'm always aspiring to try and be as good as I can be.

I mean, if I start with the guys in my tent,

I might stick with them or track them a bit.

But I'm gonna run, kinda, just getting through it,

I quite like my own time.

I think he would hold his hands up and say that he

struggles with his mental health

and actually, running, is one of the things that helps.

Feel pretty positive.

Just gotta tick through the miles.

In the case of ultra running,

the running itself is the therapy.

Such an odd thing to try and explain to people,

that actually, when you talk
about running ultramarathons,

especially multi-stage ultramarathons, people are,

kind of, intimidated by the scale of them.

But, perhaps they're looking at it in the wrong way

or not looking at it through my eyes.

Coming here, it's like a complete swap

of mental capabilities and responsibilities.

People that hear that I've done this race say,

"Oh, wow, you really like to punish yourself, don't you?"

And it's a form of judgment, where,

I certainly don't view it as punishment,

I view it as push, especially when you have ADHD.

If you push yourself to extreme limits,

it is actually recharging the batteries

and you go back, saying, there
was an enormous challenge

and I did that, I am capable.

I think people with ADHD really feel that even more

than a typical thinker.

So slow going.

Kind of just concentrating on

getting in other people's steps.

Wow, that's cool.

Shit.

Yeah, pretty cool.

All right, enough of that.

This will be here in a million years,

so I can come back.

I think the uphills broke my legs in, actually.

I didn't really enjoy that bit but, then suddenly,

running on sand felt a lot easier.

He potentially uses ultramarathons

as a way to keep him in training.

You know, training and getting out and exercising,

is basically medicine.

And it is what keeps you, kind of, focused,

your endorphins above, you know, ultimately,

it's a dopamine deficiency problem, right.

And exercise raises that dopamine level.

I think it's almost a bit of an addiction, probably,

on his part, in terms of the fact that he needs to do it.

And, it's to say, I've got this
ultramarathon in the diary

and kinda use it as a bit of a way to

manage his day-to-day life, really.

Last 15K's been hard.

It's all right, my feet need a little bit of attention

but I really am okay.

I will put 150% and more,

leave nothing on the table, whatsoever.

I don't think that's always healthy.

When it's over, this brain fog, kind of, ensues.

At the time that you're going through these

periods of brain fog, it seems to be

after periods of extreme hyperfocus.

You just run out of energy.

It's almost like your mind is trying to get some rest.

It's extremely frustrating.

And it's like a form of depression, probably.

But without it taking you down those roads.

One of the reasons I love ultra running,

is it gives me a chance to go away

and turn off from all these things.

And when I come back, the brain fog has lifted

and actually, I have then
complete clarity of thinking

and it's just complete peace

and straight line decision-making.

It all makes sense.

Exercise is often talked
about as a treatment for ADHD

and there's a really good evidence base for it.

It's also used as a treatment

for other things, like, depression.

And the reason it's good for the brain,

the reason, particularly with ADHD,

exercise is good for the brain,

is that it increases noradrenaline and dopamine.

And those are low.

There are low levels of those
in people's brains, with ADHD.

It increases levels of those chemicals

in about five minutes,

which is quicker than any medicine can work.

So it's something a lot of people use, to help focus.

Yeah, it was all right.

I'm glad it's over.

Those second days are awful.

I think from the last experience that I had with MDS,

I've learned how to treat myself.

So, like, if I feel tired,

I'm happy to go and have a rest for five minutes.

Previously, I'd just run through exhaustion

and then I would've collapsed,

I mean, I'd be in a heap but I'm in a controlled heap.

I'm just tired and resting.

Whereas, I'm not delirious today.

Of course, I want the challenge.

But actually, there's a big part of my mindset

that's looking forward to giving my brain

a bit of a holiday.

And I can just relax on the
most basic of things, you know,

by getting to a tree or getting to a corner

or, you know, just getting to the end of a day.

It puts everything into context.

Seeing a desert and, you know, just things

in a complete natural space,

without any interferences from us, whatsoever.

That to me, is peaceful.

That brings peace to the noise

that sometimes comes into my brain, I think.

There is an additional challenge with his ADHD.

Where he's gonna have to
really focus on some certain areas

to be successful.

He's gonna have to quieten that noise, quite a lot.

Today is a long stage.

We're starting at six,

run for about three quarters an hour, in the dark.

But it's quite a slog, to do 85 kilometers.

Just so much depends on how tough the first

three or four hours are.

Yeah, I'm just not sure what we're gonna do yet.

The long stage is a pretty huge moment.

Once you've cracked it, you know,

you've done something, you're well over halfway.

So I'm just gonna take today really slow and steady,

just tick off the kilometers and the checkpoints

and see how I sit by two o'clock,

then make a decision about whether I'm gonna stay

at a checkpoint for three
hours while the sun settles down

and then go again.

Or if I feel good, I'll go.

Yeah, last time I didn't do the long stage

'cause the long stage was on the fourth day.

Simon.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Oh he's the joker.

You're a joker.

I didn't get to do the long stage

'cause I pulled out on the morning of day four.

And I feel intimidated by it

but, I'm just gonna clock it off, you know,

checkpoint by checkpoint.

And have a good look at two o'clock and see how I stand.

Oh, the distance today is, 85.3 kilometers.

The long stage is gonna be hard for them

to tap into flow states.

All of the other runners around them,

intense hunger, intense thirst, which only grows.

It will be so hard to get into the zone and stay in it

and not be distracted by your sore feet.

Your 15 blisters, the hot desert sun.

There's some parts of this where Simon's brain

will consume knowledge at a
rate, faster than anyone else.

But at the same time, when it comes to the race

and it comes to the time where it gets difficult,

one simple mistake here, your race is over.

Not drinking water on time,

not look after a small blister, your race can be done.

Woo, that was amazing, going down

That hill was weirdly, quite enjoyable.

But I'm just gonna really try and stay within myself.

Don't overdo it.

It's dangerous to go too quick.

Yeah, it's getting hot now.

Hard work, getting over the brinks.

It's just amazing.

As tiny as it is, you kinda, almost, like,

compartmentalize it 'cause it's just so beautiful.

It's getting warmer, it feels hotter than yesterday.

Those long straights are gonna be the issue

because I imagine there's
gonna be quite a lot of those.

The actual gains from running in the heat,

the peak of the day, on a day like today, are just zero.

I just don't see any benefit.

I've felt, in reasonable spirits up until now.

These flats, like the one we're about to do,

the ones that cause me damage.

So, the next two stages will be quite big for me.

I'm sure I'll revisit some old demons.

A lot of the focus is on the extreme temperatures,

with these things.

But people forget that
they're still running 150 miles

over five days.

Even in temperate conditions, you'll still get

repetitive strain injuries, hips, knees, ankles.

And you have to pay attention to that, as well.

Every day you're basically doing a different ultra,

across some of the most
extreme conditions in the world.

All the time you're getting
stimulated by your environment,

by the other runners around you

but you've got this goal in the background.

So for some people who are neurodivergent

and have ADHD, that might
be the perfect sport for them.

I'm a volunteer here at MDS.

I was a late diagnosed ADHDer.

I always think things end up into buzzwords, you know

and ADHD is a superpower, well, do you know what,

I suppose it's advantageous sometimes

but it's also a hindrance

because it's very nerve-racking sometimes,

when you just wanna be organized

and you wanna stop fighting with yourself.

Grabbing hold of hyperfocus is a wonderful thing.

And it's wonderful if it fits the right thing

and it's terrible if it's the wrong thing.

You can't always just hyperfocus

on what you wanna hyperfocus on.

Like, something happens and you have to do this,

this, this, this and screw everything else

that you were supposed to do

'cause you're hyperfocused on this.

We have a huge problem,

that it's part of human experience

to have a problem with focus, right.

To procrastinate before something,

potentially to struggle to
focus every now and again.

That is not the ADHD experience.

The ADHD experience is having a debilitating

impact on your life.

It's exactly the same way
that depression isn't sadness.

That chronic anxiety isn't anxious on a first date.

That OCD isn't a tidy kitchen.

Like, they have wildly different things.

As hot as it's been all week, really.

It's absolutely brutal.

Hot.

Really hot today.

Got strength for a walk.

I was pretty roasted.

Unpacked our bags, took our shoes off

and just chilled out for about two hours.

A real lesson in historical
learning, with these events.

I would've just gone on before

and that would've been extraordinarily dangerous.

I mean, we're well over halfway now

but, drags and drags and drags.

My mindset, with, well, you know,

with ADHD, it's not suitable for this type of thing.

I think one of the reasons I do this,

is to try and exercise
discipline and I struggle with it.

You know, you're in your head, you're like, stop, stop,

have a break, stop, just gotta keep going, keep going.

Every part of me wants to stop, when it's like that.

But I won't.

My biggest problem right now, is overheating.

'Cause my head starts to throb.

I mean, I can't cool down.

Good, thank you.

Okay, thank you.

Just to get off those dunes.

Yeah.

Once you get off those dunes.

Yeah.

A bit of hard standing.

So that means, like, hot, hot, hot.

When you're racing in an extreme environment,

it's not always about the
race, it's about the conditions

that you face when you're there.

Someone can be fine, to needing medical extraction,

within the space of 20 minutes.

It's certainly arduous.

It's so still and there's no wind.

You feel like you're baking.

You're both going through the same thing.

You're both feeling the same emotions.

And, you know, together,
you're almost, kinda, joint forces,

to combat it, as opposed to doing it alone,

which can be quite daunting and difficult,

particularly in, you know,
in an environment like this,

when there's two of you with the same goal.

Yeah, you can, kind of, sort of, drive each other on.

He's been great.

Tell me everything, put my sun cream on

and make sure I'm drinking and so on and so forth, so.

This is the best way to get to know anyone.

There's nothing.

It doesn't matter who you are

or where you come from or what your background is.

You are what you are.

That to me is probably the most exciting thing.

When you're halfway through a race, like the MDS,

you almost certainly got
something happening to you

that wasn't part of the plan.

Suffering now.

Blisters, could be a whole load of things

but, you know, a lot of people will be thinking,

this wasn't in my plan and start to panic.

Simon, again, is experienced.

So he's seen a lot of these things

and will probably stay relaxed.

Very, very, very sore.

Feet are really starting to break down now.

A lot must go into these races

to test ourselves physically and mentally.

And at some point in the race, you know,

we will be utterly broken.

So it's been hot all day, now the sun's going down,

one problem disappears and another one rises.

So, literally, as soon as the sun's gone down,

my feet have just stepped up about five years.

When the sun goes down,

there's a different set of challenges.

The way I would like to run it would be in the daytime.

I don't really want to run at night at all.

I've never enjoyed running at night.

It's very easy to focus entirely on the physical side.

But it's a mental race, more than a physical race.

I am so hot,

I want water.

It's where we have still plenty of energy

to enjoy this part of the stage.

It's not entirely true of course

but we have to keep the spirit.

I just want it done now, you know.

Starting to not think very clearly.

That's the problem when you get tired,

you just start to fucking.

Just not very organized, are you?

You know what I mean?

Start to fucking drop the ball.

The thing is, you're just getting

close to, kind of, exhaustion.

I'm feeling a little bit dehydrated,

despite constant drinking, every five minutes.

But, we just need to get our heads up and go on.

My children, keep thinking about them.

These latter stages, you know, they strip you away

of lots of things and perhaps that's, in a sick way,

part of the attraction.

That allows me to, kind of, build up

my reserves again, in a very strange way.

It's extremely intimidating to come back

to a place like this and revisit those things.

You know, this is a big achievement today.

Honestly, I really am broken.

I think, smiling and being jovial, is, kind of, my way of

placating certain things, you know, normal stuff.

ADHD at school, played the fool, disruptive,

I guess it got me attention of some kind,

which I was attracted to.

And that's, kind of, like, stuck with me

throughout my adult life too.

I do think that's a defense mechanism.

It would be good to help

myself and people like me,

not feel like they have to repress their emotion.

There's no judgment in running.

I love the fact that there's no judgment

on where you come from, how much money you have,

you know, any of that shit.

It's really important.

I think, you know, we're very fortunate in the west,

you know, things are getting easier by the day

and I think you need to remember we were born in caves,

so we're quite robust bits of pit, as I would like to say.

And I think it's good to test that.

It puts things into perspective.

I'll go away from this better than before I started.

Both physically and mentally.

A little broken, to be fair.

Not physically.

The thing with these races,

you've gotta decompress for a bit to

figure out what you got out of it.

At the moment I've just got pain.

And I miss my family.

Which, comes part and parcel of it.

You sign up to do this stuff, it's gonna hurt.

Simon!

Broken.

Oh, my God.

Breathe.

Oh, my God.

There's a lot of very hurt people.

A little bit, you know, anxious

about going out again tomorrow.

But, just gotta eat today

and make sure to make the most of the rest

and get as much food down as humanly possible.

Some people come here

and they think that they are well-trained

because they did some other races

but, it's another story, you know, to live in the desert

and to be able to do 250 kilometers, it's another story.

Here the problem is the temperature.

We have two things, is the heat and your feet.

We are not talking about small blisters,

like with your shoes, in your city.

We are talking about some blister, like potatoes.

That's why you have to take care of your feet

every day, okay.

Because with the sand, it can be a big problem.

And the heat.

I found today, that after a long stage like that,

I've had a chance to, kind of, daydream of it

and think about getting over halfway

and thinking about how clear it is that

most people have got something.

The one resounding

bit of drive, that's coming forward,

is to help young people who have

got something going on, that isn't considered normal.

Having a neurodivergent condition, such as ADHD,

has its challenges.

Some of those challenges, in childhood

or when you're a teenager,

a young person can be really difficult

getting help with that

or getting other people to relate to you better,

knowing better how you tick, how you can pass exams,

talk to people, socialize, all the things

that some people take for absolute granted.

Some people with ADHD really struggle with.

There is an increased suicide rate

and that could be possibly addressed

by helping people earlier.

All focus should be on trying to avoid people

getting to a point where they take their own lives

or spiral into some form of unnecessary depression,

whether they're a male or female.

It does seem to be a common denominator,

women feel like they're not talked about enough,

in regards to ADHD because of the way

that they seem to develop when they're young.

It's just the void between the two genders,

I think, is just less clear

'cause boys seem so much more immature

and it just comes to the front earlier.

We have a massive problem in the underdiagnosis,

a full stop.

But we have a bigger
underdiagnosis problem in girls.

That stereotype, are you a little boy running around

and are you disruptive?

Whereas, a little girl is
more likely to be disruptive,

really, to herself.

And on top of that,

a lot of the research has been male only.

And so, that understanding of women and girls,

has not been researched properly and needs to be.

Basically, you should be able to talk about

whatever you wanna talk about,

with whoever you wanna talk about it with.

That's the bottom line.

My pack feels a lot lighter.

I think having a day's rest,

fuck, it just makes such a difference.

But, I'm not blind to the fact

this could be short-lived, so,

I'll just try and gun as much as I can,

until the sun gets hotter.

We're getting stronger baby.

No?

28.4 anyways now.

Already?

Yep.

Great, thank you.

You know, in this race,

you can find some very, very different people.

That mean you have some CEO of companies

and you have some workers.

In this race, they are not anymore CEO or workers.

They are in the same camp, they have the same tent,

they have the same things.

The mind that I need to tame periodically,

feels like it's at, you know,

a relative peace, at the moment.

Kind of, found my own ways of treating myself.

It's very severe but, you know,

I'll feel good for months, not days.

It's almost like you can't cool yourself down

quicker than you're heating up.

So it's just like a bit of a chess game, really.

Keep your sodium levels right,

keep the fluids constantly going in.

Dave, you going.

My pee is dark orange, almost blood orange.

You've got such a huge calorie deficit.

Your body's just eating itself.

It's a machine.

It's widely regarded as being the hardest foot race

on the planet.

Essentially, you're there to get yourself through it.

But you are an island in the Sahara.

Flats, runable and then it just went into dune, sand

and hell, you know, it's just stifling.

That was very difficult.

Ah!

Top job.

So we're going down a route here,

where we're choosing to talk really openly about it.

Most people don't have that

and they're just locked off to it, you know,

to the point that it really alienates themselves

from their own life.

I see my son, who's got ADHD and I see myself,

as, at his age.

He can't help it, you know,

it's just electricity coming out of

his every pore, at different points

and he doesn't know what to do with that.

We know that 76% of ADHD
can be described genetically.

We've seen that through a whole lot of studies,

particularly twin studies.

Almost every case, if one identical twin has ADHD,

the other has ADHD.

Little bit of a negative mindset.

Just haven't been able to get into a rhythm.

The desert is a beautiful, beautiful place

but it's ruthless.

Training of the mind.

Pick yourself up, go again.

Don't lose your focus and your temper.

Take things in a balanced way

and then, eventually, you get what you want.

More dreams.

I had a horrible night's sleep.

Mentally, I'm choosing not
to be very positive right now.

But, the fact is, we've got one last push.

It's been an amazing experience, in some respects.

It's been incredible just to talk to people

so openly about ADHD.

It feels like it's almost a relief for people

to open up and talk about it.

And perhaps we're assisting in creating a bridge

to allow that to happen.

People say it changes you.

You don't believe them but it does change us.

I think everyone here definitely has a story.

I was meant to do it with my brother and he died.

And then, my mum's unwell,

so I'm doing it to raise money for her hospital.

Unless you've got a reason, you're not gonna finish it.

I think, sometimes you need to push your limits,

just to feel alive.

I think it's just going home

and appreciate things a bit more.

Kind of puts it all in perspective.

There's nothing more valuable than actual examples

of people who have got ADHD.

People just don't like talking about it,

until it impacts them or there's a kid in their family

who's got it.

Should it be taught in school, what these things are?

Being more open, talking about it.

And then knowing that
having ADHD doesn't necessarily

limit you from doing something.

It can be addressed far earlier.

And before it gets a chance

to develop into something a bit more suspect,

it can be blocks off and rediverted.

That really is where this goes.

But that isn't a quick fix.

A lot of pain.

This is the hardest thing I've ever done.

Hand down, hardest thing I've ever done.

I think it's really important

to help people find a diagnosis early.

A diagnosis turns the lights up

and suddenly you can see your mates, you can navigate.

When we talk to people,

we know how life-changing it is for them.

Same time.

We go ahead.

Living with ADHD,

you've gotta make some quite big decisions.

When to push yourself and when to be kind to yourself.

You can only really do that
if you really properly know.

If you have a formal diagnosis.

There is a sense of, sort of,

coming home, being understood

and that's really common

when somebody has an ADHD diagnosis, is, sort of,

coming to understand why they are the way they are.

It's like a light bulb and you're so happy

because you're like, I knew something was wrong.

That explains everything.

I think he just was happy to go, yes, I do have that.

Where he comes into his own though,

it provides you with hyperfocus,

especially around things

that you're genuinely interested in.

And so the enlightenment

of actually knowing, is life-changing.

You've got the keys to the car.

You can seek help for that.

You can get medication for that.

You can look at support groups.

You can start to really play to your strengths

and manage your weaknesses

in a way you just couldn't before.

Knowing how you tick, helps you function.

I think it could just lead to a
happier, more informed you,

which, essentially, is what we're all aiming for.

It's a peace with ourselves.

2021, it's just represented so many things.

It wasn't just about the race.

I stared into the voids that year.

This is a realization of how far I've come.

I've used something that I've probably known I've had,

for a long time, as an
extremely positive influence on,

for many, many things.

There's absolutely no doubt that it's meaningful

and powerful, if it could be understood.

But that's different in every single child and adult.

And that's why it can't be, just labeled.

It has to be broader.

I see the finish line.

Yes, yes, yes!