The 2024 edition of Marathon des Sables – The Legendary is over. The statistics say this is the 38th running of the race, but in reality, it is 37 plus 1 or maybe, it is really just edition 1 of a new era of the race?
There is no getting away from the fact that the departure of Patrick Bauer and the arrival of new organisation caused anxiety, worry, and many questions. In real terms, there may have been many runner’s deciding to ‘wait and see’ what happened in 2024 and if all goes well, they would enter 2025.
The worry is over.
Statistics show MDS had 867 start the race and only 60 DNF’d (did not finish) – These statistics alone are a success!
Nothing is ever simple and straight forward, so, lets look at the 2024 edition.
MDS
Every year, after each edition of MDS, I write a summary article. Some are more in-depth that others. For 2024 I provide a summary here and in-time, I may well come back to this post or write a new post based on comments and feedback, so please feel free to add your experiences in the comments.
There were many changes for the 2024 edition and in the build up to the race, a familiar comment was heard:
‘If it ain’t broke, don’t break it!’
To some extent, after 37-years, this was a valid comment, however, Cyril Gauthier, Ferdinand Charriau and others at MDS HQ thought differently. There was no spur of the moment and rash thought process, on the contrary, ideas and protocols had been tested on the HMDS format. They had seen success there and the idea, quite simply, was to bring that to MDS The Legendary.
It was a success!
All the the pre-race doubts, questions, frustration and at times anger soon disappeared as the race and the organisation unveiled the 2024 race and it’s format.
Cyril had used the term in 2023, ‘This is not revolution, but evolution.’ As the 2024 race progressed, this evolution slowly but surely converted the 867 and convinced them that the new format was a winner.
It’s still MDS.
It is still a multi-stage run.
It’s still in the Sahara.
It’s still tough and still around 250 km’s in distance.
BUT, and this is a big BUT, there are complete changes in the way the race is now run.
THE CHANGES
Communication:
The changes start before we even get to the desert with years and finally months of planning and tweaking. I think the MDS team will confirm here that communication, information and news could have improved in the early stages but as soon as the race came close, there was a significant improvement, so, we can expect that to not only continue but get better moving forward.
Travel:
Travel plans and options changed in an effort to be more environmentally friendly and therefore charter planes were reduced to two and I think it is fair to say, that we can expect to see them removed completely for 2025? With travel options increasing all the time, it is now very easy to travel to Marrakech and therefore, travel options will and can be expected to be more flexible for future years. However, to facilitate travel to Ouarzazate and the race RV point, buses were provided from Marrakech and post-race for return travel.
Self-Sufficiency:
No catering was provided before the race as in past editions, therefore, runner’s had to provide there own food before race self-sufficiency started. While some would have preferred a catering option, ultimately it was no problem and no issue. One thing was for sure, there was little stomach upset in camp using this method. That alone is confirmation enough.
Admin Day:
Admin day in the past has been a long and laborious process that has taken 3-hours for some. This was changed completely and it was an absolute success with average processing times of 30-minutes. It was simple, fast, efficient and a game changer that resulted with less time in the sun for runner’s, less time on feet and little to no stress.
Camp:
The bivouac looked the same but there was a significant change, the circles of tents were made tighter and smaller making for a much smaller space in the middle. This made for easier comms and a more comfortable, homely feel. Each evening there was a small talk called ‘Legends’ that introduced 2/3 significant people from MDS history in a casual Q&A format. This was followed with relaxation and yoga.
Early starts:
Depending on the stage and the distance, race start times each day were earlier to allow for 2/3/4 hours of significantly cooler temperatures. The earliest start 0600, the latest start at 0800 for the top-50 on the long day.
Water:
Water was in abundance, not rationed and in addition to CP’s typically every 10 to 12km’s, additional water stations were added on certain stages.
Cold water:
Each significant CP had cool iced water that was poured on necks and heads to help with cooling.
Staff:
Volunteers made the event a success with dedication, commitment and enthusiasm.
Safety:
Much of the above: early starts, more water, water stations, cold water come in the ‘safety’ section but the race had medical runners, more fast response vehicles and more medics/ doctors.
Stock cubes:
Salt tablets were replaced with mandatory stock cubes. This caused huge controversy before the race, but, during the race I heard many comments such as, ‘stock cubes, who’d have thought it, I have grown to love them!’ Now of course, MDS is a self-sufficient race and just as one would train, test equipment, research food and so on, salt/ electrolyte replacement should also figure in this. If that is stock cubes, great! If not, make sure you have what you need. Again, only 60 DNF’s reflect that whatever was happening was working.
“I enjoyed them as either a side dish to my lunch and dinner or, on the long stage, during the stage itself. They worked for me, in addition to my own nutrition. No issues with dehydration or hyponatremia, and enjoyed something aside from the mostly sweet race nutrition.” – Stephanie Tang
“I used them in the evening, 1 as a hot “brew” and the other inside my evening meal. I did supplement the day with 1 salt tablet per hour. On the day I didn’t use 1 tablet per hour I cramped up significantly. I was on the fence of not using them, however I see the benifit and actually looked forward to my evening Knorr brew. Everyone is different but that’s just what worked for me, knowing my body and stomach.” – Maximus Baximus
Foot care:
As per usual, foot care was provided and as the race went on, the demand increased. It’s important to remember, MDS is a self-sufficient race and so therefore, an element of self-care is required. This also helps avoid any wait. However, for those who had bad feet and needed to wait for attention, care was given to all these that needed it.
“It was my experience that you could see a medic if you were prepared to wait for one, there was also medics overseeing the self care side of things too.” – Matt Pearson
“…when you just ran 85k you don’t want to threat your own blisters.” – Stijn Vin Cauter
Tracking:
As per usual, each runner had a tracker for safety and so loved ones at home could follow.
The race format:
2024 was the longest race in MDS history. It was also 6 race days and not 5 with a charity stage. So, on paper, the race was harder…? The feared long day, typically on day 4 was now on day 3. This allowed for runner’s to be fresher, but to counter balance this, packs were heavier. In past editions, with the long day done, there was ‘just’ a marathon to do. Now, with the new format, there was still some 100 +/- km’s to go over 3 stages! The typical format of the race has been to run through the desert, point-to-point resulting in 5/ 6 bivouac. For 2024, just 3 bivouac were utilised allowing the race to concentrate on what many considered, the best part of the Sahara – it worked!
MDS The Legendary
Every year, MDS has challenges. If we look at the last 4-years, the challenges have been very significant:
2020 Covid.
2021 Intense heat, norovirus and the highest DNF rate in MDS history.
2022 Cooler temperatures and even some rain.
2023 Intense heat and sandstorms.
It was very clear that the new management wanted to learn from 2020 to 2023 and make sure that the 2024 edition, as much as possible, facilitated increased safety and a higher completion rate.
The figures speak for themselves, just 60 DNF’s. A success!
Now of course, many factors come into play when discussing DNF rates and to be fair, 2024 was a good year with no excessive heat and the new protocols as discussed above. Having experienced 11 MDS, 2024 was not a hot year. For sure it had its moments, particularly on stage 3 and stage 4 between midday and 5pm, but with earlier starts, typical temps of 30-33 degrees and often wind, conditions were good.
There was an abundance of sand storms and a day did not pass without the presence of wind, some days were worse than others. However, there was never one of those full-on white out days.
The route was a classic, taking in ‘the best’ of the region, the long day in particular was beautiful. Some days were easier than others, ultimately though, the route was a showcase for Morocco and the Sahara.
Everyday, CP’s and the finish line was a party with motivated volunteers and music. The final day finish, at times, was like a rave with a DJ and a full-on party mode.
“First time running, so cannot compare, but absolutely loved the event . From start to finish, I have nothing but praise. Amazing staff and volunteers.” – Julianna Ambrosi
To sum up, the runner was placed first (correctly) and the organisation facilitated, as best as possible, a finish.
“First time for me so don’t have any comparison but having UK volunteers was great. Especially at the checkpoints when a friendly face and some words of encouragement instantly made things better.” – Si Brewington
The after party, awards, film show and celebration was top notch – a great finish.
THE RACE
Rachid El Morabity and Aziza El Amrany were crowned champions. Rachid obtaining his 10th title and Aziza gaining her first.
The El Morabity once again used tactics for victory, Aziz Yachou could only watch on and fight as hard as possible, hoping that one of the duo would have a bad day… Bad days never came. Mohamed ‘played’ a bad day on stage 5 to relinquish time for his brother. It was just a game, just a like chess or a domestique in cycling.
For the women, Aziza El Amrany was in a race on her own. She was head and shoulders above the competition and gave a dominant performance.
Aziza Raji, who has won MDS before and earlier in the year won Omand Desert Marathon placed 2nd and UK’s Gemma Game, once again placed 3rd. This Gemma’s 3rd time placing 3rd.
Summary articles:
FINAL CONCLUSION
This is not an in-depth analysis of the 2024 MDS The Legendary, that will follow with more feedback and analysis. However, with thoughts and ideas fresh in the mind, it’s good to have immediate analysis and put thoughts down. I think I can safely say that the race can be summed up in one word, SUCCESSFUL.
What have I missed? I know I will have missed something, so, please let me know.
There may have been some controversy, worries and anxiety in the build up but quite quickly that evaporated.
MDS The Legendary may not be perfect yet, but for the runner, the 2024 edition came close.
If you hesitated placing an entry for 2024, my advice is to act quick for 2025. I firmly believe that once participants share their positive experiences, entries will fly in.
CALL FOR COMMENTS
I welcome you to share experiences, the highs and the lows. The positives and any negatives. The MDS will grow and become better with more feedback.
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