The Physics of Achievement

Dr Paul Campbell and Dr Paul Prentice, physicists in the College of Art, Science and Engineering, have a real passion for science. So much so they are prepared to go to extraordinary lengths to further their research and highlight their chosen field.

Not content with the intellectual stamina required to push on with their groundbreaking work in microscopic physics they decided the best way to raise the profile of the subject was to take on a far more physical challenge.

With an apparent aversion to taking the easy option the two researchers signed up for the notorious Marathon Des Sables, considered to be the world's toughest ultramarathon.

Run over six days in the blistering heat of the Saharan desert the Marathon Des Sable is more than 240km long across brutal terrain and requires participants to carry what they need with them for the duration of the race.

"In hindsight there probably are easier ways to raise the profile of physics," admitted Dr Campbell, Reader and admissions tutor in the Division of Electrical Engineering and Physics. "But we both like a challenge so we decided to go for it."

The two academics headed to Morocco earlier this year and thanks to two years of relentless training and sheer force of will successfully crossed the finish line to join one of the most exclusive clubs in the world.

The race was all the more agonising for Dr Campbell who suffered severe blistering to his feet on day one.

"The first day was Dune Day which involves running across sand dunes for about 31km," he explained. "I actually enjoyed it. You get swept along in the whole occasion and it was great to finally be there after all the training.

"I was euphoric when I finished that first day and then I looked at my feet. I couldn't believe it when I saw the extent of the blistering. I taped them up but I knew I was in for trouble. We had a full-blown marathon the next day and my spirits just dropped through the floor."

Remarkably he made it through the next five days and more than 200 km spurred on by thoughts of what he had sacrificed to be there.

"I had to keep going," he said. "I'd missed so much time with my family to train for it that it would have been for nothing if I'd given up. I never considered not completing it. I just accepted it was going to be a painful experience. The first four hours of every day were agony but after that it numbed off. I wasn't really running. It was more of a hobble so at least I didn't have the lactic acid pain I would have had if I'd been going a bit faster."

While Dr Campbell grimaced his way through the dust and heat with every painful step his fellow researcher was running an altogether different race.

"I paced myself for the first three days," said Dr Prentice. "I ran 4 hours 40 on the marathon day when I would normally run about 3 hours 10 for an ordinary marathon. Day Four is the pivotal day because it is the longest at 75km. When I survived that I decided to run quite hard for the last two days."

His punishing pace paid off enabling him to finish in 27th place on the last day, an impressive achievement in an international field of 800 seasoned runners.

"I really enjoyed it," he added. "You don't do anything the week before because you want to be as fresh as possible but it was really frustrating so I couldn't wait to run. I was desperate to get going.

"It was an amazing experience. The atmosphere is unbelievable. It is not really a race, it is a battle but the camaraderie it creates is incredible. That was one of the reasons I did it and I would think about doing it again."

For Dr Campbell it was a once in a lifetime experience.

"When I finished Paul was waiting for me with a beer but all I was thinking of was "Great I don't have to run again for months." I have definitely exorcised the ghost of ultra marathons. I'm glad I did it and ordinary marathons will seem like a piece of cake now. I wanted to find out whether I could push myself that far and now I know I can. Whenever life gets hard I can draw on that."

The experience is likely to prove beneficial in research terms too as the two scientists share a similarly adventurous approach to their work.

"We like to throw ourselves at the hardest challenges to see just how far we can push it," said Dr Campbell. "I think it is a great mentality for a scientist to have.

"It'll come as no surprise that some of the toughest problems with most appeal to a Dundee based physicist have a significant overlap with biomedicine and life sciences. The infrastructure here is so well set up to chase down that particular kind of science.

"That is where we are building a reputation with our sonoporation work using ultrasound waves to delivery drugs and therapeutics to tissues. The concept here is that some future surgical procedures might actually be do-able without the need for any incision, an apparently outrageous thought.

"What keeps us motivated is that the basic microscopic physics underpinning the approach is largely unknown territory, so with each step forward in the lab we get a lovely balance of fundamental discovery, that represents progress towards an incredibly beneficial healthcare application.

"The problem with that approach is that, as an old mantra for challenge selection puts it, "problems worthy of attack, prove themselves by hitting back." Unfortunately for me that came true in the Sahara. My old feet will never forgive me!"

Marathon des Sables - the toughest race on Earth

This year's Marathon Des Sables was the 23rd time the race has been run. A total of 800 places are offered each year and despite the savagery of the challenge places are like gold dust. For this year's race all places were filled within half an hour of entries opening.

Staff at ISE are helping train a team of three runners for next year's Marathon Des Sables. Keith Anderson, James Myles and James Hughes are hoping to raise £25,000 for Maggie's Cancer Caring centres.

They approached ISE for help with their training for the race and have been supported by Dr Audrey Duncan, Sport Science Manager and Helen Weavers, sport and exercise physiologist.

"Over the last year, we have worked with the team to undertake regular physiological assessments to monitor their progress and to assist with structuring their training programmes," said Dr Duncan.

"In this year of taper to the event, we will work even closer with the team to make sure they are prepared for the gruelling physical challenge of the Marathon Des Sables."