Marathon des Sables, or MdS, is a six-day, ultramarathon, which is approximately the distance of six regular marathons. The longest single stage is long. This multiday race is held every year in southern Morocco, in the Sahara Desert. It has been regarded as the toughest footrace 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 in 12 days without encountering a single oasis or desert community along the way. Two years later in 1986 the first Marathon des Sables was run. Twenty-three runners participated in the race with Bernard Gaudin and Christiane Plumere, both of France, finishing as the winning man and woman. 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. In 2017, two new Marathon des Sables events took place for the first time: the Half Marathon des Sables on Fuerteventura in the Canary Islandsin September, and another full-length Marathon des Sables event in Peru in November. Due to the outbreak of coronavirus the 2020 Marathon des Sables 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.
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.
Marco Olmo, Italian ultratrail specialist, ran all editions since 1996, with best placement 3rd. At the 2013 edition, Olmo was 64 years old, and he was 47 when he ran his first.
Dima and Lama Hattab, Jordanian twins who were the first female Middle Eastern participants in the race.
James Cracknell, British rower and adventurer, competed in the 2010 race and became the highest placing Briton to ever 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.
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.
Mauro Prosperi, former Olympian from Sicily, entered the race in 1994 but was set 299 km off route by a harsh sand storm. He was lost for ~11 days before being found in Algeria, following a well-publicized search of the desert.
In 1999 Carlos Sposito was the first Brazilian to complete the Marathon des Sables.
Sir Ranulph Fiennes became the oldest Briton to complete the Marathon des Sables in 2015. In doing so he raised over £1million for Marie Curie.
James Matthews, married to Pippa Middleton, competed in the marathon in 2008.
Gavin Sandford completed two Marathons des Sables in 2016, running the 2011 course alone and then immediately joining the start of the 2016 course, so completing 300 miles on foot in 12 days
Duncan Slater was the first double amputee to finish the Marathon des Sables in 2017.
Nikola Doeg and Frances Davies previously rowed the Atlantic Ocean as part of Team Yorkshire Rows, setting a record as the oldest all-female team to row any ocean, will take part in the 2018 Marathon des Sables to raise money for Maggies Cancer Care charity.
