Le Marathon des Sables (“Sand Marathon” in French) is a 250km endurance running race, where individuals are self-sufficient in food and equipment. Divided into 6 stages over 7 days, it is run in the sands and rocks of the dunes and dried-out wadis of the Southern Moroccan Sahara with midday temperatures of around 40 to 45 degrees Celsius. The appeal of the desert with its myth and extreme conditions attracts around 650 participants from almost 30 countries and all 5 continents. The only assistance provided by the organization is 9 liters of water per day, handed out at checkpoints along the route and at the end of each stage.

We run with a backpack weighing up to 12kgs that contains around 2,500 calories worth of food per day, a sleeping bag, and compulsory survival equipment such as a distress rocket, survival blanket, whistle, and anti-venom pump. A Bedouin bivouac welcomes us at the end of each day’s leg where we sleep in open-sided Berber tents, prepare our food, tend to our wounds, and prepare for the next day’s leg.

Click here to read an article in Acrobat format about the Marathon des Sables in Outside magazine.