Following on from the huge success of MDS Cappadocia, MDS add a new event to the 2025 line-up, the MDS Morocco – Atlantic Coast.
This makes three events now in Morocco, MDS The Legendary, MDS Morocco and the new MDS Atlantic Coast which only confirms that Morocco, really is a perfect destination for a desert adventure.
The Atlantic Coast brings something very new, white dunes, endless beaches and of course, the juxtaposition of the ocean as a backdrop bringing something very new and different to a Moroccan adventure.
The event will take place from January 25th to February 1st 2025 and as with all other MDS events, it will follow the same format, a three day race over 4-days with the option to run/ walk 70, 100 or 120km’s.
MDS events bring a very unique challenge and with the distance options that are available, you can make these events as hard or as easy as you wish. With a considerable line-up of events and destinations, MDS are now offering a great opportunity to visit new places as a run tourist.
The Atlantic Coast for sure will be a highly anticipated destination.
The Schedule:
Participants will need to arrive in Morocco (Marrakech or Agadir) on Saturday January 25th (or before) to meet the MDS team at a designated point for onward travel to the race hotel.
Day 2 will have technical and medical checks with a day at the hotel.
Day 3 participants will transfer from the hotel and the start of stage 1 which will be 25 to 30km. Night in bivouac.
Day 4 stage 2, the ‘long day’ of 20, 40 or 60km. Night in bivouac.
Day 5 rest day. Night in bivouac.
Day 6 stage 3 25 to 30km and then transfer to hotel. Night in bivouac.
Day 7 day at the hotel, awards in the evening and gala dinner.
Day 8 onward travel home.
Desert and ocean, a stunning mix.
Culture, adventure, tradition and relaxation, the Moroccan Atlantic Coast brings something new to the MDS line-up.
Registration opens July 17th at 12pm (UTC+2 / Paris Time) and the first 100 participants can save €300.
Countdown begins to the first edition of MDS Cappadocia, June 22nd to June 28th. A week long adventure in one of the most iconic locations in Turkey. A moonscape region carved by the variables of time and nature, famous for its layered history and unique geological features.
Day 1 Arrival in Turkey, technical and medical checks.
Stage 1 (day 2) will begin in Sunday June 23rd with two distances, 25km or 30km and a night in bivouac.
Stage 2 (day 3) Considered ‘the long day’ will have three distance option, 20, 40 or 60km with a night in bivouac.
Day 4 a rest day.
Stage 3 (day 5) like stage 1, will offer two distance, 25 or 30km followed by a night in a hotel.
Day 6 a day of leisure and in the evening, gala dinner and awards and a night in the hotel.
Day 7 travel home.
MDS Cappadocia, like the other MDS locations (excluding MDSThe Legendary) allows participants the option to choose between 3 distance formats: 70, 100 or 120 km, spread over 4-days/ 3 stages. These distances are given as an indication and are likely to be revised downwards according to the type of terrain and the difference in altitude of the routes. The event is accessible to everyone, runner or walker, with generous time barriers to enable completion – 98% finish.
However, just like The Legendary, self-sufficiency is part of the race and therefore participants must carry all they need for the race duration (inc food) the exception, water and a tent.
In principal, the requirement per person is as follows:
WAA Ultrabag 20l with two water bottles (or similar)
Sleeping bag and mat (mat is optional but recommended)
Clothing for running – Hat, shirt, shorts, socks and appropriate run shoes with gaiters (when applicable) for desert running.
Sunglasses
Warm layer – (down jacket, windbreaker, merino top etc)
Personal hygiene products inc sun cream and toilet paper.
Items for food preparation (stove (no gas) if you require hot water, bowl, spork etc)
Food – Find the right balance between freeze-dried meals, salty snacks, compotes, soups… Without forgetting the food for the race (especially during the long stage): cereal bars, gels or other energy sources. It is strongly recommended that each runner has a minimum of 2000 k/calories per race day
Any luxuries?
The race has Mandatory Equipment
WAA Ultra Bag 20L backpack or equivalent
Capacity of 1.5 liters of water
A sleeping bag
Headlamp (which must be turned on after dark) + 1 complete set of spare batteries or battery
10 safety pins
Lighter
Whistle
Metal blade knife
Skin antiseptic
Signal mirror
Survival blanket
8 soup cubes (2 per day) to help the rehydration
Tube of sunscreen
100 euros in cash
Passport or identity card (depending of the destination)
Official MDS medical certificate completed by a doctor (form available 3 months before the race).
Weight is key, participants need to aim for the lightest weight possible without compromising what they need for an efficient and comfortable race. Remember, runner’s need to carry everything for their chosen race distance.
In comparison to other MDS locations (Jordan, Morocco, Fuerteventura etc), Cappadocia will bring a new challenge and environment. Located in the centre of Anatolia, Cappadocia is characterised by its fairy chimneys and Troglodyte dwellings carved in the rock. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This terrain is rolling with considerably less sand and the landscape is filled with fascinating cone-shaped rock formations. On good weather days, the sky is filled with hot air balloons, a key attraction for this area.
If you’d like to follow the first edition of MDS Cappadocia, a daily report and images will be posted on this website.
Interested in another MDS event?
Entries open in June for the 2025 MDS The Legendary HERE and new for 2024, MDS TREK MOROCCO which brings a new concept to the MDS format, read HERE for information and register from June 12th HERE.
Now is the time to make all the final preparations for a goal that you have been building towards for 6-months, 1-year or maybe even years.
DON’T PANIC.
If you have got this far, you are in a great place.
There is time for one last key week of training, adding the final touches to make sure you are in the best shape possible, BUT, after this week you need to start easing things back, looking after yourself and allowing your body to recover, rest and get ready for what may be one of the biggest weeks of your life?
MEDICAL
Make sure you have all the medical requirements fulfilled and an up to date ECG as specified in MDS rules and regulations.
The organization’s medical certificate (to download from your online account from March 11th 2024) and the resting electrocardiogram (ECG) report plus graph, dated less than 30 days before the start of the race, i.e. from March 12th 2024, are to be presented during the administrative, technical and medical checks on 13th of April 2024. Only the original documents, dated and signed, will be accepted (unvalid photocopy). Failure to present these documents will incur penalties (see ART.27 et 28). The signature and the stamp of the doctor must be applied on them.
The electrocardiogram of effort is advised for participants over 40 years. It is not compulsory and does not replace the ECG at rest and its plan. This can be joined to the medical certificate and presented in Morocco.
TRAINING
From a training perspective, what may the next weeks looks like? Well, we are all individuals, we all have different abilities, we all have different goals, we all have different free time and the list could go on. However, I have found over the years that using a ‘percentage’ taper works across the board, irrespective of the person.
Race date: 14th April 2024
Taper schedule:
Week 4: 17th March
Week 3: 24th March
Week 2: 31st March
Week 1: 7th April
If we look at the weeks above, a taper to Marathon des Sables could look like as follows:
Week 4: 80%
Week 3: 60%
Week 2: 40%
Week 1: 20%
The percentages are based as a percentage of what would be week 5, starting 10th March. For simplicity, let’s assume that week 5 is your last big training week and it was 100km or 12-hours.
The Taper:
Week 4: 80km or 9.6 hours
Week 3: 60km or 7.2 hours
Week 2: 40km or 4.8 hours
Week 1: 20km or 2.4 hours
Importantly, keep the balance of training days the same. If you typically run 5-days a week, maintain those 5-days and reduce the volume/ intensity.
Your body needs to keep alert and active. So make sure you add some stimulus in this taper period, short periods of faster running and/ or hill work are ideal. However, do all this with the priority not to get injured. Now is not the time to get a niggle, a sprain or a problem.
ACCLIMATE
In the final two weeks of taper you need to hone in on acclimation to heat and prepare the body.
Don’t leave this to the last minute, plan ahead, especially if using a heat chamber. Heat chambers are limited and obviously, time slots are limited.Â
If you do not have access to a heat chamber think of other options: sauna, hot baths, bikram yoga, adding layers when running, or if you are lucky with time, arrive in Morocco early and taper in a real situation.
EQUIPMENT
You will have been mulling over equipment for months and you may well have tweaked and changed your choices. Now, with 4-weeks to go, this is the time to make sure you have everything you need and also understand what it all weighs.Â
Clothes must be comfortable and not rub.
Shoes fit perfectly, give no hot spots and are suitable for the desert environment and have gaiters.
Socks work for you.
Sleeping bag is light and warm.
Sleeping mat
Food
Mandatory kit
Top Tip –
Use LighterpackHERE to list all your equipment. You can see an example HERE that I used for a trip climbing in the Atlas Mountains. This is a great way to look at everything and make sure you have nothing missing.
Keep luxuries to an absolute minimum, they only add weight.
Pack and re-pack your pack to make sure you have the most comfortable solution and importantly, you have immediate access to essential items.
Read my Top 20 Tips HERE which provides a great overview of all the things you need to consider now in this final phase.
FOOD
You need a minimum of 2000 calories per day. Lay food out for each day and have a spreadsheet that itemises everything and shows the weight and calories.
Where possible, re-package food in smaller and lighter packaging. Particularly important with dehydrated meals. Read HERE
TRAVEL
Travel in your run clothing including your run shoes with the gaiters. Yes, you are going to look somewhat ‘special’ at the airport but trust me, luggage goes missing and you do not want to be the person standing in the Sahara watching your dream slip away because of lost luggage. Equally, take your run pack with all contents for the race as carry-on. You can take pretty much take everything: food, sleeping bag, essentials etc. However, check with your airline what can and cannot go on the plane.
Put your main luggage in the hold and here you can take spares, extras and options. MDS varies considerably in temperature, we get hot and cold years. Never assume it will be hot, it may not be. Before admin day you can fine tune your ‘race kit’ with more or less layers.
Purchase food and drinks at the airport to take on the plane. Also consider when you land in Morocco, you will have an approximate 6-hour bus journey to bivouac 1, take food and drink with you for this trip.
Have cash with you, depending on which airline you use, card payments are not always possible, also, in Morocco, cash is king.
ARRIVAL
You will arrive in Morocco from London or Paris on one of the arranged flights on Friday 12th April. If you are not on one of these flights, you need to be at Ouarzazate airport (typically for 0900) on the same day.
Runners will then fill buses, road books will be given and then you transfer to the desert. Expect 6-hours.
At bivouac you will find your tent and settle in.
REMEMBER food is now NOT provided and you therefore need to feed yourself on arrival day and admin day. There are no restrictions on weight or calories here, so, take as much as you want and plenty of variety, this includes drinks. Only water will be in camp.
As mentioned above, until admin, you have your luggage with you, so, you can have more layers, a more comfortable inflatable bed and some luxuries – consider what will make these days more pleasurable and comfortable.
ADMIN DAY
On admin day, prepare all your kit and make sure you have everything prepared and ready. Also make sure you have all mandatory and essential kit. Once you have passed through admin, your luggage is taken away and you will not see it again until after the race.
Race self-sufficiency actually only starts the following day with stage 1.
Admin can take a while, so make sure you take liquid and snacks and my top-tip is take an umbrella to protect from standing in the direct heat.
My recent podcast interview with Cyril Gauthier (available HERE) discussing the new development and progression for Marathon des Sables has now been transcribed and translated in to French. Superb job by Emmanuel Lamarle.
It is available on the marathondessables.com website by following the link HERE.
Make sure you you click on the flag (top right) as the copy will be inFrench or English.
The iconic Marathon des Sables is entering a new phase, the past 37 editions have been under the aegis of Patrick Bauer, who, back in 1984, filled up a pack with food and water and trekked off alone into the Algerian Sahara to cover 350km’s on foot in a self-sufficient manner. Little did he know at the time, but this journey was the start of something incredible, the Marathon des Sables, or MDS as it is affectionately known.
Now under new ownership, the 38th edition taking place in April 2024 will see some significant changes while sticking to the main format and principles of the past 37-editions.
It is therefore timely, to update my Ultimate Guide to Marathon des Sables and acknowledge these key changes.
A recent podcast with one of the new co-owners, Cyril Gauthier, can be heard HERE.
Cyril ran the Marathon des Sables in 2009, created the brand WAA and is instrumental in the growth of the HMDS (Half Marathon des Sables) format. Moving forward, the HMDS format will no longer have the ‘half’ title, for example, HMDS Morocco will become MDS Morocco, HMDS Jordan will be MDS Jordan and the key, full distance race of the past 37-years will be called ‘LEGENDARY‘ – The Legendary Marathon des Sables.
Marathon des Sables offers more than just running, it offers a challenge, it offers something quite unique – the Sahara and the MDS strips the runner back to basics and deprives them of all luxuries so that they are stripped raw. Runners find themselves in the desert.
However, this challenge can often daunt a new participant with the challenge that is ahead and therefore, my Ultimate Guide to the Marathon des Sables is provided to settle nerves, provide initial information and provide a level of knowledge that you can use as a base from which to build your own plan and decide on what equipment to purchase and use.
IAN CORLESS 