''Marathon des Sables'', or MdS, ( French for Marathon of the Sands) "Facing Africa NOMA : The Marathon des Sables", FacingAfrica.org, 2010, webpage:
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. is a seven-day, about

ultramarathon An ultramarathon is a footrace longer than the traditional marathon distance of . The sport of running ultramarathons is called ultra running or ultra distance running. Various distances, surfaces, and formats are raced competitively, from the ...

, which is approximately the distance of six regular

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of kilometres ( 26 mi 385 yd), usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There ...

s. The longest single stage (2009) was long (2023 : 90.1 km). This

multiday race Multiday races are ultramarathon running events which are typically either segmented into daily events of a specified distance or time, or staged so that runners can run as far as they want, at their own discretion, over a set course or over a se ...

is held every year in southern

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

, in the

Sahara Desert The Sahara (, ) is a desert spanning across North Africa. With an area of , it is the largest hot desert in the world and the list of deserts by area, third-largest desert overall, smaller only than the deserts of Antarctica and the northern Ar ...

. Some runners regard it as one of the toughest

foot The foot (: feet) is an anatomical structure found in many vertebrates. It is the terminal portion of a limb which bears weight and allows locomotion. In many animals with feet, the foot is an organ at the terminal part of the leg made up o ...

races on Earth. The first event of the Marathon started in 1986.

History

The marathon was the brainchild of French concert promoter Patrick Bauer who in 1984 traversed the Sahara desert on foot and alone. He covered 350 km (214 mi) in 12 days without encountering a single

oasis In ecology, an oasis (; : oases ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment By 2009 over 1,000 runners participated in the event and the ''Solidarité Marathon des Sables'' association was created. The aim is to develop projects to assist children and disadvantaged populations in the domains of health, education and sustainable development in Morocco. 1st British MdS 1994

In 2017, two new ''Marathon des Sables'' events took place for the first time: the ''Half Marathon des Sables'' on

Fuerteventura Fuerteventura () is one of the Canary Islands, in the Atlantic Ocean, geographically part of Macaronesia, and politically part of Spain. It is located away from the coast of North Africa. The island was declared a biosphere reserve by UNESCO i ...

in the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; ) or Canaries are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean and the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, Autonomous Community of Spain. They are located in the northwest of Africa, with the closest point to the cont ...

in September, and another full-length ''Marathon des Sables'' event in

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

in November. MDS3

Due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

the 2020 Marathon des Sables (35th) was postponed from 3–13 April to 18–28 September, following a warning officially issued by the Ministry of the Interior of the Kingdom of Morocco as stated in the marathon's official website. It was eventually cancelled.

Winners

Notable participants

*Moroccan brothers Lahcen and Mohamad Ahansal, who won 10 and 6 editions, respectively, Mohamad also being 7 times second behind his brother. * Lahcen Ahansal and Rachid El Morabity tie the record for most wins with 10 each. *

Mauro Prosperi Mauro Prosperi (born 13 July 1955) is an Italian former police officer and pentathlete, most notable for his nine-day disappearance and survival in the Sahara, whilst competing in the 1994 Marathon des Sables (Marathon of the Sands) in Morocco ...

, a former Olympian from

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

, entered the race in 1994 but was set off course by a harsh sandstorm. He was lost for 10 days before being found in

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

, following a well-publicized search of the desert. *In 1994, René Nevola, Mike Stroud, Mike Lean and Richard Cooper became the first British runners to complete the Marathon des Sables. René Nevola was the first Briton to complete the race and finished in 22nd place. *Marco Olmo, an Italian ultratrail specialist, ran all editions since 1996, with best placement 3rd (achieved three times). At the 2013 edition, Olmo was 64 years old, and he was 47 when he ran his first. *Chris Moon from

Lanarkshire Lanarkshire, also called the County of Lanark (; ), is a Counties of Scotland, historic county, Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area and registration county in the Central Lowlands and Southern Uplands of Scotland. The county is no l ...

became the first amputee to complete the Marathon des Sables in 1996. Moon had lost his right arm and leg while supervising the clearing of landmines in Mozambique. * Dima and Lama Hattab, Jordanian twins, were the first female Middle Eastern participants in the race in 2001. Rachid_El_Morabity

Jack Osbourne Jack Joseph Osbourne (born 8 November 1985) is a British-American media personality. He is the son of heavy metal singer Ozzy Osbourne and Sharon Osbourne. He starred on MTV's reality series '' The Osbournes'' (2002–2005), along with his ...

entered in 2006 but quit early on in the second stage. He was running as part of his '' Jack Osbourne: Adrenaline Junkie'' TV series. * Luis Enrique Martínez García (known as Luis Enrique), Spanish former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

, and former manager of

FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly known as FC Barcelona and colloquially as Barça (), is a professional Football club (association football), football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of ...

, completed the marathon in 2008. * James Cracknell, British rower and adventurer, competed in the 2010 race and became the highest-placing Briton ever to compete in the race, finishing 12th until fellow Briton Danny Kendall placed 5th in 2014. In 2017 Tom Evans became the first Briton to finish in the first three, finishing third overall. * Explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes became the oldest Briton to complete the Marathon des Sables in 2015, at age 71, coached by MDS Coach and 17 x MDS finisher Rory Coleman. In doing so he raised over £1million for the

Marie Curie Maria Salomea Skłodowska-Curie (; ; 7 November 1867 – 4 July 1934), known simply as Marie Curie ( ; ), was a Polish and naturalised-French physicist and chemist who conducted pioneering research on radioactivity. She was List of female ...

charity. However, in 2024 Harry Hunter became the oldest British finisher at 76 years old * Cactus became the first dog to compete the Marathon des Sables in 2019. Cactus, a stray dog, started joining in with the runners during the second stage of the race and then went on to complete the remaining stages of the race. Cactus was awarded the official race number 000 and received his finishers' medal.

Incidents

*During the 2021 marathon, a French runner in his early 50s suffered from

cardiac arrest Cardiac arrest (also known as sudden cardiac arrest CA is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. When the heart stops beating, blood cannot properly Circulatory system, circulate around the body and the blood flow to the ...

which resulted in his death.

Bibliography

*Ted Archer: ''Carved by god, cursed by the devil – a true story of running the Sahara Desert.'' Redwood City CA, University of Dreams Foundation 2009. *Patrick Bauer ... t al. ''Le Marathon des Sables.'' Paris, SPE (Société de production éditoriale) 2000. (English version by David Waldron). * John Bonallak: ''The desert run.'' Wellington, New Zealand, Learning Media Ltd. 1999. . * Steve Cushing: ''24th Marathon des Sables – a competitor's tale.'' Leicester UK, Matador 2010, . * Guy Giaoui; Foued Berahou: ''Ultramarathon stage racing - from our experiences of the Marathon des Sables, the Trans Aq', and other races - a practical guide.'' St-Genest-Malifaux, Raidlight 2008. . * Mark Hines: ''The Marathon des Sables - seven days in the Sahara - enduring the toughest footrace on earth.'' London, Health Body Publishing 2007. (hbk.). (pbk. 2010). * Marcel Nickler: ''Running the Sahara - a diary from the desert and beyond.'' Norderstedt, BoD 2019. * Monika Nicolle: ''Histoire d'un Marathon des Sables – 245 kilomètres dans le désert...'' Paris, Éditions de l'Onde 2010. . * Eddy Poirier: ''Vaincre soi-même : Marathon des Sables! Toute une histoire.'' .l. Glob 2009. . * Pierre-Emmanuel Rastoin: ''Regard sur le Marathon des Sables : 2004/06.'' Biarritz, SAI 2007. . * Mark Roe: ''Running from shadows - my Marathon des Sables.'' Kibworth Beauchamp, Matador 2014. . * Herbert Meneweger: ''Marathon des Sables - die Grenze ist, wo die Vorstellungskraft endet - der härteste Marathonlauf der Welt, 243 Kilometer durch die Sahara.'' Anthering AUT, Meneweger 2003. . * Mike Stroud OBE. (re-issued 2004). Survival Of The Fittest: Understanding Health and Peak Physical Performance. * Dr Dan Tunstall Pedoe: Marathon Medicine. 2001, page 186.Dr Dan Tunstall Pedoe: "Marathon Medicine", page 186, at books.google.com
Accessed 7 June 2017 .

Notes

External links

Official website of the Marathon des Sables

* {{usurped, 1= ttps://web.archive.org/web/20110103222405/http://www.snagfilms.com/films/title/marathon_of_the_sands/ Documentary on the 14th Marathon des Sables} by Les Guthman Multiday races Ultra-Trail World Tour Recurring sporting events established in 1986 Athletics in Morocco Trail running competitions 1986 establishments in Morocco