Marathon des Sables, today, announce MDS TREK MOROCCO which will take place from October 20th – 29th 2024.

Registration opens June 12th.

Building on the format of MDS – The Legendary, the MDS Trek brings a new concept to the desert with 10-days of disconnection from the noise, clutter and chaos of the modern world.

A 10-day adventure, spending 7-nights in the desert, the trek course will cover between 70 and 120km’s divided into several stages. The distance will be for you to decide based on your personal desires and ability. Unlike MDS – The Legendary, this is not a self-sufficient experience, therefore, participants will only need to carry a light pack with essential items.

But this experience is more than just a trek, it’s 360 experience of escape that will include workshops in the evening on physical and mental well-being in sport, for example, “Athletic Fasting – Its Strengths and Weaknesses”, “Glucose and Blood Sugar Management” or “The Power of Breathing”.

Staying in double tents with mattresses provided, at the end of each stage you will be able to have a Berber shower and buffet dinner. For a small extra charge, massages will be available and in the evening, the option to purchase cold drinks to relax, share experiences and unwind in social areas.

This experience is accessible to everyone and maybe an ideal opportunity to share the Sahara with a loved one or a group of friends.

Following the route of the Marathon des Sables, the MDS Trek Morocco will have 4 timed stages, as previously mentioned, you choose the distance. There are no cut-offs, so, pace can be relaxed and should you have any difficulty, you can be repatriated to camp and still able to start the following day.

• Stage 1: 14 or 24km
• Stage 2: 12 or 15km
• Stage 3: – day 1: 19 or 31km**
• Stage 3: – day 2: 19 or 26km**
• Stage 4: 13 or 24km

Water stations will be available along the route, and you will need capacity to carry 1.5 ltr of water, some food/ snacks and nothing more. The rest of your equipment will stay in bivouac. 

There is an exception, the **long day, split over 2-days will require a sleeping bag as you will spend a night under the stars in a Nomad camp with a buffet dinner.

This new format offers an opportunity to be active both in mind and body, without the stresses of a more demanding self-sufficient race. It’s a trekking holiday that can be used as a unique stand alone experience or as a stepping stone to another MDS event.

• Day 1 – The experience will last 10-days with the need to meet in Ouarzazate on day-1 for transfer to the desert.
• Day 2 – Will have technical checks, workshop and a night in bivouac.
• Day 3 – Stage 1
• Day 4 – Stage 2 and in the evening, workshop.
• Day 5 – Stage 3 part 1 with Nomad star night and buffet.
• Day 6 – Stage 3 part 2 with return to bivouac and completion of the ‘long day.’
• Day 7 – Rest day with workshop.
• Day 8 – Stage 4 followed by night at a hotel.
• Day 9 – Relaxation day, gala dinner, night at hotel.
• Day 10 – Onward travel.

FEES

It will be possible to sign up for this experience from June 12th and the price will be 1950 euro for the first 100 participants and then increasing to 2050 euro.

Done MDS before? Maybe you’d like to return to the Sahara with a loved one or with friends and enjoy a more relaxed trek holiday? The price will be 1750 euro for the first 100 and then increasing to 1850 euro.

SCHEDULE

The meeting point will be in Ouarzazate on Sunday morning, October 20th, 2024, to join the organisation and take transfers to the desert.

To get to Morocco and Ouarzazate, you can arrive at different airports:

Ouarzazate airport
Take a flight for Ouarzazate before the adventure and spend one or more nights at the hotel (at your own expense) then come to the meeting point on the morning of October 20th.
We recommend that you arrive before October 19th so as not to miss the shuttles in case of a delay at the airport on Sunday, October 20th.
 

Marrakech airport
Shuttles will be organised on Saturday April 19th in the morning, between Marrakech and Ouarzazate (5 hours journey). You can either:
• Book a flight for Marrakech airport and on arrival, take one of our shuttles directly to Ouarzazate.
• Spend one or more nights in Marrakech and take a shuttle on April 19th to Ouarzazate.

The return journey at the end of the MDS Trek follows the same logic. 

If you wish, you can take advantage of the bus organized between Ouarzazate and Marrakech. These buses will leave Ouarzazate on the morning of October 29th, therefore you’ll need to book a return flight from Marrakech in the afternoon.

If you take a return flight from Ouarzazate, in this case you are free in the hotel-airport transfer and you can book a flight whenever you prefer.

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