Angus Neale (Bn 18) completes the Marathon des Sables in memory of Haydn Robarts (Bn 18)

In March, we shared that Angus Neale (Bn 18) would be running the Marathon des Sables in memory of his friend and fellow OW, Haydn Robarts (Bn 18). It is a self-supported, 270km race which takes place over seven days in the Moroccan Sahara. Crossing desert dunes in ferocious heat, it has been dubbed the toughest footrace on earth. Angus has just returned from the race, and shared his experience:

“At the start of April, I ran the Marathon des Sables (MDS) in memory of my brilliant friend, Haydn Robarts (Bn 18). He was an understated and deeply kind individual. Those of us who knew him consider the time we had together a privilege. He was well-loved within Benson and across the wider Wellington community, not least in our spirited IB Higher Level History class.

MDS has always been a bucket list run. For most, it’s saved up for a crisis like a divorce or turning 50. But that seemed a bit daft. I knew I was at a high fitness level, so why not just go for it? But that alone didn’t seem like enough. 

Haydn Robarts (Bn 18)

“Remember your why.” This was the advice we were given as we stood in the starting pen on the long day. Running for a cause was essential. The physical challenge was exciting, but when your blisters are burning and your legs feel like logs, you do start to ask yourself why you’re there. Raising money and remembering Haydn was the answer.

In previous years, this stage was known as the “Double Day” — two back-to-back marathons. The organisers decided that that was too easy, so it was now a 100km stint. It was virgin territory. I’ve done ultras before but never a stage of this length. My strategy was simple: run the hard ground, charge down the hills and dunes, power walk the ups and, when the sun was at its fiercest, poles out and just plod. The strategy held, but when you’re burning 8,500 calories in a day and consuming barely 2,000, the physical gives way to the mental. I hit the “wall” around the 60km mark.

How do you keep moving when running on empty? The answer, I found, was conversation. You keep marching for the sake of a good chat that breaks up the monotony of the desert. In those moments, companionship carries more weight than anything else. The same went for when we were in the crunch points of Sixth Form. Haydn brought out the best in all of us, in the same way your fellow runners do on MDS. We have far more to gain from helping one another than just ourselves.

MDS is an amazing challenge. In exchange for a bit of grit, it offers beautiful scenery and a real sense of achievement.”

Haydn was diagnosed with a brain tumour in 2019 and passed away a week before his 20th birthday. Angus ran the MDS for Teenage Cancer Trust – to find out more and support Angus’s marathon journey, visit: https://www.justgiving.com/page/angus-neale-1