Marathon Des Sables

September

Month

Kilometers

Runners

6 Stages

Desert

Pt-to-Pt

Extreme

Elevation

About the Race

WHY RUN IT?

The ‘Gateway to the Sahara’ and ‘Hollywood of Morocco’ – Ourzazate – is also the jumping off point for the Marathon Des Sables, a 250 km stage race through the Sahara Desert. For an extremely tough race, the MDS is surprisingly accessible for those new to ultras. That’s because it’s staged over six days and even the fastest runners will be kept from going out too hard, carrying a 7 kg pack over sandy terrain.

“Just for one week, it refocuses your attention on the things that are necessary for survival. It makes you appreciate the simple pleasures in life.”

- Magdalena Boulet

Racers take off each morning in the Marathon Des Sables to the sounds of AC/DC’s Highway to Hell playing and helicopters fly overhead. The song is gives runners a sense of the temperatures in store for them, which can reach 50°C (120°F). The heat is especially oppressive on “Dune Day”, a crossing of the highest sand dunes in the Sahara, and the longest stage, which is 50 miles in one go.