Sahara Desert Race - the details

I received an e-mail a couple of days ago from Joe Holland, Backountry.com athlete. He'll be competing in the Sahara Desert Race put on by Racing the Planet. It's basically a crazy man's dream of a "race" across the Sahara - self supported and carrying all of your own gear.

In only his second race it appears that Joe has gotten into this desert racing. The proof is in a spreasheet that he e-mailed me detailing the weight of each item he is carrying with some interesting notes. Here's a sampling of how an adventure racer thinks:
From his e-mail

This might look obsessive but call it a hobby.
- 7 lbs of food are required and 14K calories.
I could knock out 6 ounces if I took the packaging off the balance bar things. I didn't realize packaging weighed so much..

Now from the spreadsheet:

Paper towel(14 sheets)- 3.5 oz.
Evening wife beater shirt- 3.8 oz.
Gu - 1.10 oz. "Good for dark moments, but the kicker only lasts an hour"
E-Caps with bottle - .065 oz each

Sure Joe, everyone gets this intense about their hobbies. Good luck in Egypt!

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