Last year when I ran in the Mauritanian desert I met a Finnish competitor with ski poles. He was getting teased like mad by everyone asking him if he was expecting it to snow – the temperature was about 50°C! He also had an umbrella for the sun (no, he wasn’t expecting rain either), and I was wondering how he was going to hold it considering he only had one pair of arms and hands. However, during the long desert trail with many stones and obstacles, I got to thinking he may have been onto something with his poles for helping to trudge through soft sand and over rocky outcrops. You never know, they might also have come in handy as a weapon against the odd snake. [Read more…]