It seemed like a sensible thing to say yes to,” says Heather Stanning with a smile and characteristic low-key reserve. Earlier this year, in support of the Army Benevolent Fund, Stanning completed the Marathon de Sables: a 160 mile, self-sufficient seven-day ultra endurance event across the Sahara Desert in southern Morocco.
Eight years ago, having won everything rowing has to offer (at least twice) the Team GB oarswoman retired from rowing and embarked on a military career with the British Army. Given that her parents, brothers and husband are all members, or former members, of the British Military this came as no surprise. “We’re really unimaginative when it comes to career choices!” Stanning quips.
The newly-made Henley Royal Regatta Steward, two-time Olympic champion, and Royal Artillery officer perches on a boat sling in the blue-and-white striped boat tents of Henley. We are sheltering from the rain as the typically-temperamental British summer takes a turn for the worse. It’s pelting it down. Manicured, riverside lawns are saturated, and the now swamp-like boat park has Glasto-vibes. It’s a far cry from the dry heat of the Saharan sand dunes.
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The Marathon de Sables (MdS) is a race that has always been on Stanning’s radar (“maybe I saw a documentary”), but one she thought had passed her by. “Having had kids, life changed. To train for an event like that and to go away for that long, I thought that time in my life had gone,” says the 39-year-old mother-of-two. Que circumstance and serendipity.
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