December | 2014 | IAN CORLESS

The Marathon des Sables needs no introduction. It has been hailed as one of the toughest races in the world. Like it or love it, it has produced some wonderful and epic stories.

One sees clearly only with the heart. The essential is invisible to the eyes. – Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

I marvel at the front runners moving fast through the dunes, up a jebel and ignoring the heat. However, the middle of the field and those who struggle each day to make the cut off no doubt provide me with incredible inspiration.

Gilles and Didier have provided such thoughts on numerous occasions.

Tears stream down his face as he sobs uncontrollably. Gilles, all smiles, pulls away and kisses him on each cheek with a passion seldom seen. It’s a moment to savor! They are the last two runners on the course and the moment epitomizes all that the Marathon des Sables represents. It shows a bond between two people and confirms all that is good and pure in human nature and ultra running.

Read the full article on RUNULTRA HERE

Run. Tag a peak. Repeat.

Inspired by our FKT on Els 2900 route, we customized our track to add more ridge running and off track segments. Be ready to tackle one of the most incredible alpine route ever made for a runner. It’s hard and steep. Think averaging 1,000m of vertical variation every 5K.

Yup, you read it right…

Here are some info about our race…

Name: Els 2900 Alpine Run
What: 70km, 6,700m of vert.
When: October 16-18, 2015
Where: Andorra

Why this is a race like no other:

We tag the 7 highest peaks of Andorra in a row (all above 2,900m of altitude, hence the name ‘Els 2900’ which means ‘The 2,900’ in Catalan);
A 100% alpinrunning course, mixing ridge running, scrambling, off-track segments and even a via ferrata!
For safety reasons, 50 spots only: The race are only looking for highly skilled mountain runners w/ alpine background;
The race is over a day but start and finish lines are from and to mountain huts above 2,300m. So the race will have an approach hike the day before the race and will spend the night at the first hut all together. Same thing after the race, runners will all spend Saturday’s night in a hut before to get down to the valley the next day;
All meals, hosting and supplies are taken care of within the price
Cost – 200EUR for the 3 days

We ran our Edition Zero last October and runners have been amazed to say the least. Some pictures here.

Some useful links:

Pre-registration here (English) or here (Catalan);
Official website
Facebook
Twitter

Important:

We’re a non-profit organisation;
Our only aim is to demonstrate that alpinrunning is not ‘a daredevil thing’ or yet another trend, but a real sport that requires strong skills from both mountaineering and running worlds…