UNDER THE SUN
Donations (cheque)-letters of support-training gear ;-)
Please send to: 199 New Kings Road,
London,
SW6 4SR
UK
Known simply as the MdS, the race is a gruelling multi-stage adventure through a formidable landscape in one of the world’s most inhospitable climates - the Sahara desert. The rules require me to be completely self-sufficient, to carry with me on my back everything except water that I need to survive. I will be given a place in a tent to sleep at night, but any other equipment and food must be carried..(by me).
There are some risks that you can't train for....
The MDS, as the regulars call it, is not a race for the faint-hearted. Will-draining heat, strength-sapping sand and disorientating winds take their toll.
In 1994, for instance, a sandstorm engulfed competitors halfway through the event and Italian Olympic pentathlete Mauro Prosperi became seriously lost. He was missing for nine days, having run 299km in the wrong direction and over the border into Algeria.
The 39-year-old policeman survived by snacking on passing reptiles and insects, and drinking the blood of bats he found in an abandoned shrine. By the time he was rescued he had lost 18 kilograms, and drunk enough bat blood to last a lifetime.
As an example of what lies beyond the starting line, the longest single stage in 2015 was 51 miles (81.5km). Typical (total race) distances are 156 miles (251 km) broken down as follows:
Day 1 - 33.8 km
Day 2 - 38.5 km
Day 3 - 35 km
Day 4 - 81.5 km
Day 5 - 42.2 km
Day 6 - 15.5 km
The actual routes and formats change every year. The Race Director and his team spend a month meticulously planning routes that are held secret until the day before the event starts.
ABOUT THE MARATHON DES SABLES
