The Marathon des Sables
The Marathon des Sables (Marathon of the Sands) is a 6 stages/7-day foot race of aproximately 240km across the Moroccan Sahara desert. It is regarded as ‘The Toughest Foot Race On Earth’.
Contestants must carry mandatory equipment, all food, clothing and sleeping gear in a backpack which weights between nine and twelve kilograms. Runners must prepare all their food throughout the race but the French organisers will supply a minimum of 9 litres of water every day, and also a space on the desert ground of approximately 1m width under a Berber tent for the night.
Runners experience mid-day temperatures of up to 50°C, battle sandstorms and freezing nights, running and walking on uneven, rocky, stony ground as well as climbing 100m high sand dunes.
1986: the 1st MDS welcomes 23 competitors
2008: 802 competitors
Bits & pieces from the official MdS website:
Some data about the logistic side of things
The Marathon des Sables is not merely a race, it is also a most impressive organisation manned by over 300 people, enabling the 800 competitors to tread 245 km in the best possible conditions in terms of safety, logistics, and care for the environment. In total 108,000 litres of Sidi Ali water bottles; 1,400 litres of petrol; 5,000 litre of kerosene and 30,000 litres of fuel were consumed. Two helicopters followed the race from beginning to end, and so did 16 military trucks and the incinerator truck.
Some data about medical care during the race
To get a sense of how much bodies – feet in particular – suffered, all you need to know is that the Doc Trotters medical team handed out 4.2 km of elastoplasts; 13,000 compresses and 97 litres of disinfectant. Add to that 1,750 medicines against diarrhoea; 1,970 ones to stop sickness; 3,700 painkillers; 87 litres of perfusion; and 2,400 litres of physiologic serum for a total of 4,680 interventions.
