The 2022 Marathon des Sables got underway today, the 36th edition coming quickly after the 35th which took place in October 2021.
Conditions in March are very different to those encountered in 2021 with cool nights and relatively mild daily temperatures for the Sahara.
Patrick Bauer
Of course, anticipation was high in bivouac, a mixture of excitement and nerves. However, Patrick Bauer, as per usual, calmed everyone from the roof of his Land Rover with his daily morning introduction to the day. The race was underway at 0900 as planned.
The march forward
Unusually, Rachid El Morabity went to the front and set the pace. He meant business! He was followed by Julien Chorier and within 400m they had already opened a gap… This was a very unusual Rachid tactic. He usually bides his time, eases in to the day and the slowly speeds up; not today.
Rachid and Julien
Rachid started as he meant to go on and won the day! But why did he start so hard? Quite simply, in my opinion, he knows he has a race on his hands this year with Aziz Yachou who pushed him last year and had he not had a time penalty, the result just may have been different?
Aziz Yachou
After the fast start, Aziz pursued and at the line had closed the gap, Rachid 2:04:16 and Aziz 2:04:37. So close!
Mohammed El Morabity
Julien Chorier faded to 5th in 2:16:12 and Mohammed El Morabity after a slow start moved in to 3rd 2:10:16 with Cédric Fleureton 4th in 2:14:40.
One thing is for sure, Rachid will need to work his year and it is clear that he knew this before the start. He looked leaner and fitter, not that he has ever looked any different. But pre-race there was a different look. It’s subtle. The cheeks just a little gaunt and his legs more defined.
Anna Comet Pascua
The women’s race was a different story with a more gradual start to the day with a clear strategy forming. Anna Comet Pascua came here to with the race and although she had run with others in the opening km’s, by Cp1 she had taken the lead and she went on to win the stage in 2:52:20.
Sylvaine Cussot
Sylvaine Cussot finished 2nd in 2:56:25 and the 2021 champion, Aziza Raji finished 3rd in 2:59:41. Amelia Culshaw from the UK was 4th ahead of multi MDS champion, Laurence Klein, 3:06:10 and 3:13:01 respectively. The women’s race is set for an exciting battle as the terrain becomes more challenging and the distances increase.
Anna and AzizaAziza 2021 champion
The stage one route was just over 30km’s, flat but had plenty of soft sand and several small hills and dunes but nothing substantial to make the day difficult. It was a good day 1 for all to ease in and for the top men and women, a fast one! Rachid’s time was incredible… We are in for a fast men’s race.
Heat is often debilitating for a runner. Heat cramp, heat exhaustion, dehydration, heat stroke, headaches and the desire just to stop are all very real problems.
As the summer season approaches, running in a hot climate is sometimes unavoidable, however, racing in a hot climate is relatively controllable as you will understand in advance the race, the environment and the expected temperatures one can expect.
Understanding the conditions of ones running and racing environment is crucial to make the best of all the hard training you have done. So, one needs to adapt and plan.
Heat acclimatisation takes place in a natural environment where one can specifically prepare in advance of a chosen race or project, ideally for 7-14 days before the event. For most of us though, the luxury of travelling for 14-days and having an acclimatisation holiday is not a realistic proposition.
This is where Heat Acclimation comes in. In simple terms, this is about providing heat stress in a controlled environment, typically a heat chamber, over a set period of time and sessions.
Dr Jodie Moss has specialised in heat acclimation and in the process, put her learning to real time use at the 2019 Marathon des Sables where she placed 8th woman.
Jodie at MDS
With Marathon des Sables approaching, it is timely to re-visit and gain a full understanding of what is required to acclimate to heat with an interview with Dr Jodie from July 2020.
What is it about heat that makes running so difficult?
You are imposed upon by a different challenge. What happens is you create this metabolic heat by contracting your muscles. When one runs, you use muscle mass and this generates heat. When you then exercise in a hot environment, particularly if it is greater than skin temperature, then this makes it very difficult to get rid of heat. Humans are not the most efficient mechanically, so this energy from contracting muscles, potentially around 20 to 30% of the mechanical energy being made is converted to chemical energy, that means 70%, maybe even more, needs to be eradicated in the environment. If the environment is hot, for example, the Sahara, a challenge is imposed to eradicate the heat and what often happens is is that the heat is stored and one feels hotter and this then has a cascade effect of issues and problems, physiologically and perceptually.
Physiologically:
An increase in skin temperature is likely the one which is noticed first as it is directly impacted upon by the environment. There will be an increased demand for blood flow that needs to go to muscle to provide it with oxygen/ energy to run, but also there is a competition for blood flow to the skin. In order to thermo regulate, blood is competing with muscles and skin and that creates an impact on one’s cardiovascular system. Typically, heart rate will increase due to the increased workload sending blood to muscles and skin.
Body core temperature will increase.
Sweet rate will also increase and therefore the percentage of water loss will increase and the consequence of this is dehydration – a deficit in body water with onward complications.
Perceptually:
We thermally perceive it to be a lot hotter.
You are more uncomfortable.
The feeling of needing to slow down and therefore performance is impacted.
Is heat acclimation as valid for the runner at the front, as well as the runner at the back?
In principal, yes. However, if we take Marathon des Sables as an example and the winner, Rachid El Morabity, he is a Moroccan, he lives in the environment in which the race takes place, therefore he is naturally acclimatising on all his training runs. Therefore, he has no need to acclimate artificially.
Highly trained individuals though, through training, can gain thermal adaptations, irrespective of environment. For example, if you are training everyday, particularly at a high percentage of VO2max, one will create heat this will require a higher sweat rate and therefore adaptation takes place. But, interventions should be in place both acute and chronic, to minimise the effect of environment on performance. Environment, will always have an impact on performance, no matter which athlete.
Acclimate for the heat.
When is a good time to start adapting to heat and how?
It is a consideration for close to competition, typically in a period of 7 to 21-days. Adaptation from exposure diminishes rapidly, so, there is no need to do this too far away from the chosen event.
Now of course, if one is fortunate with time, the best scenario is to travel to the race location and adapt naturally in the environment of the race. However, very few have such a luxury and this is where acclimating as opposed to acclimatising steps in.
However, budget can be an issue, so it is possible to adapt via some simple home methods. Keep one’s training as planned, say by a coach, and then add layers of clothing while training. Have a hot bath after training. One can also consider Bikram Yoga and say saunas. But, and this is a big but, while some of these interventions will have some benefit, it is not something that can be recommended completely as it is harder to prescribe and measure.
We want heat adaptation and these adaptations only occur when there is sufficient thermal strain.
As an example, one could run for an hour with layers and build heat. Then immediately have a hot bath. Water has a greater density than air and the heat inside the body would be retained and most likely increase, this would stress the system. But, the issues arise with how long does one do this… Ultimately though, this is considerably better than nothing!
By far the best way, is environmental heat chamber.
Environmental Heat Chamber
The jury is still out on what is the optimal sessions for performance gain, however, five sessions would be considered fundamental over a period of 7 to 14-days. This period has shown results of a much more fulfilled adaptation. The pseudo motor function (sweat rate) takes a little longer to occur, but all the other measurements, cardiovascular and lowering core body temp occurs quite rapidly. So, based on sweat rate, a longer period of time provides the best results.
In regard to the sessions, they could be performed every 2-days, every other day, every day and some even do 2 sessions per day. But obviously time and budget is a huge factor.
It is also important to remember that these sessions take place close to competition, so, monitoring stress and recovery is equally important.
In regard to session length, 60-minutes is usually adequate and this allows the body to get hot enough.
I get asked about adding a run pack and weight, for example, MDS is a self-sufficient race and a pack is required. On the start line, the minimum weight will be 8kg. But training with this in the heat is not necessary, but some insist as it provides security, comfort and a greater understanding of what the Sahara, as an example, may feel like. But this adds additional stress and the sessions are about heat adaptation.
The Protocol
Isothermic heat acclimation intervention is typical. We get you to exercise so that your core reaches a certain temperature. For this we use a rectal thermistor. This ensures that you meet the thermal stimulus, crucial for sessions like this.
We measure body weight naked and this allows us to monitor fluid intake and sweat rate. We can test urine to look at hydration status too. This is all about making the client aware of hydration and levels. We also want the client to leave a session re-hydrated!
A treadmill or bicycle is used. Personally, I prefer the bike as it adds less impact to the body. It’s important to remember, these sessions are about heat adaptation, they are not training sessions. A 5-minute check will include hear rate, core temperature, skin temperature, perception of thermal environment, how hot does the client think it is? And finally, I will ask how comfortable the client is. Then, the exercise will begin.
We aim for a core of 38.5 degrees in each session. This is ideal for pseudo motor and thermo functions to be maximised. It ensures that we are always controlling and meeting a fixed criteria. Measuring the thermal strain is key. It usually takes about 30-minutes to get to 38.5 degrees depending on the individual. But external factors do have an impact.
We typically see improvements by session 3. But it is important to have, say 10-minutes of each session fixed, that way we can monitor improvement and adaptation. We can gain the data here and then report back. Day 5 to day 7 will show the most improvement. So, 7-sessions.
Time can be an issue and some may prefer to squeeze two sessions per day and compress 7-days, say, into 3 or 4. This is possible and literature confirms this. Total exposure is more important than days.
Ideally, the last session would be 1 or 2-days before departure for the chosen race.
What problems can occur without acclimation and how does one mitigate it?
A runner will be faced with a physical and perceptual challenge that will have negative effects. They will be slower, frustrated, dehydrated and have a potential of heat stroke and ultimately they may not finish the race. If any of these elements are experienced, try to cool as much as possible, seek shade at aid stations, rest and allow the core to lower. Hydrate and use spare water to provide a perceptual cooling. Water on face, head, forearms and neck will help a little.
On a personal note:
I did not have the perfect race and that is what makes me keep signing up to race. My heat protocols were great but I compromised my training and I was surprised with 8th place. I had an amazing support system and I do have chronic heat exposure, I am also very good at getting rid of heat. I also sweat high. But I need to be careful on dehydration. I made a mistake with my pack trying to make it as light as possible but I compromised my pack integrity and this hurt my back. I look forward to going back, I hope in 2021.
Jodie with her medal.
Top 3 tips to get ready in regard to heat and training.
1. Have a heat protocol as outlined above.
2. Test all kit and nutrition, leave nothing to chance.
3. Do not panic. Trust the training you have done. Do not increase mileage and training in the light stages. Do not risk injury or illness. Be healthy.
A Multi-Day race or a long-distance ultra is a huge undertaking. For many, it’s a 12-month project (or longer) that slowly but surely can consume every available day, hour, minute and second.
I get it, a long-distance race over multiple days in an unfamiliar terrain can leave more questions than answers. However, don’t panic, it’s not that complicated – read HERE.
As your key adventure looms, it’s time to focus the mind, body, and equipment so that you can plan for and anticipate all that may go wrong and right while undertaking this key target.
Quite simply, the old saying, ‘Fail to Prepare, Prepare to Fail’ does and can ring true.
So, what can be done?
Luck can have a place in any success; however, it should never be relied on. In multi-day events, particularly self-sufficient ones, the need to fine tune everything is a key element.
Training.
Kit.
Mind.
All of the above have very important roles to play in success.
Get the training wrong, you may not have the fitness or an injury that will result in you not achieving the finish line.
Get the kit wrong, be it too heavy, not durable or inappropriate may impact on your ability to achieve your goal.
Many say the mind is a key and an integral part of any success. Often, the body can be willing, but the mind can be weak, get the mind focused and prepared.
You need to be prepared for whatever your multi-day adventure will throw at you.
In the final phase of training, 6-8 weeks before your adventure starts, is a great time to start working on the final phases and plans that will help ensure success.
THE PREPARE PHASE
If we assume that tapering will take 2 to 3-weeks, this key ‘Prepare Phase’ should be in weeks 4, 5, 6 and 7 before D-Day.
Train and prepare specifically.
First and foremost, understand the challenge that you are undertaking. You may feel that you already have a grasp on this, but there is no harm sitting down and going through all they key aspects. Terrain, weather, mandatory kit, distance, and conditions. Look at the October 2021 edition of Marathon des Sables, the race started with a series of protocols to manage Coronavirus. Ultimately, Coronavirus was not a consideration, it was extreme heat, sickness and stomach problems.
Understand the event and challenge.
Walk, WALK, WALK! – Walking will (for most) be an absolute essential skill to complete any multi-day adventure. You may think you will run most of the distance… But experience confirms that walking is a key to success. Walking, and walking with purpose is a skill. Practice. Consider poles, they may enhance your walking experience, if so, practice and use them.
Learn to walk.
Without doubt you will have long days, and some will go in to the night and through the night. Take time and plan and include a session like this in the ‘Prepare Phase!’ Understand here that this is an opportunity to test kit, not only yourself. Is your head torch bright enough, how do temperatures vary, how does my appetite and requirement for fluid change etc. By doing this in training, you do it in a safe environment. If it all goes badly, you can always make a call and get picked up or get a taxi. You can’t do that in your race or event. Darkness and nighttime can play tricks.
Back-to-back runs may well have featured in your training but running/ walking tired is a skill. However, be careful how you plan this in training. You want adapt body and mind, not break them.
Practice makes perfect.
Perform training with rationed water and race/ event food. You need to learn what works and what doesn’t work. It’s all very well going for a long run and then getting home and eating chocolate and drinking Coca Cola – can you do that in your event? Mentally this can be a real tough challenge – be prepared.
Get a pack that fits perfectly and does not bounce.
Your pack will be with you for the duration of your event. It must be as light as possible and also sturdy enough to last the challenge without breaking. Be minimalist on equipment and purchase the lightest equipment possible. Remember though, lightweight can often mean less durable, less warm, less functional and so on… Better to break or damage equipment in training so that you can make changes ready for the important challenge ahead. Modify and adapt.
Be specific!
Be specific. Snow, mountains, altitude, heat, or cold. Understand the demands that will be placed on you in your challenge and plan for a specific phase (typically in the 2-3 weeks before the event) to help acclimate. This could be a heat chamber, it could be arriving early before an event and adjusting to high altitude, it could be some specific cold, ice or snow training.
Try out food for an adventure in training.
Plan an ‘event simulation’ that will require you to run for a specific distance, be self-sufficient overnight, sleep in a similar scenario/ situation to your event and then get up and run the next day. This can be a key element in understanding what does and does not work. Is your sleeping mat comfortable? Is the sleeping bag warm? Did your food taste good? How easy was it to cook? How about snacks, did they work? How was the pack weight and distribution of contents?
Spend a night out in training to find out what does and does not work.
Train with your pack and add weight, however, be careful NOT to do too much training with too much weight. This can result in injury. In addition, learn how to pack your bag so that it sits comfortably with minimal bounce. Understand where to put snacks so that you can access them on the go.
Look after feet – many failures come via poor shoe choice and foot care.
Feet and shoes. Please do not ask. ‘What shoe shall I use for ‘X’ Event?’ Runners are individuals and what works for one does not work for others. Gait, foot shape, foot width, foot length, toe length, run conditions and so on all impact. Read THISarticle on how to find the correct run shoe.
Water and hydration is key to success.
Food glorious food. Calories are essential for an event, so is what they weigh. Understand food and its nutritional values and make sound educated choices that balance fat, protein, and carbohydrate. Also understand that taste changes. Sweet may be ok early on but typically savory is better as time passes. Is beef jerky better than nuts? What food rehydrates quickly or with cold/ warm water? Should I take bars? What about protein drinks? So many questions… They need answering!
Shops are not always available.
You only have to do three things at most multi-day events:
Run.
Eat.
Sleep.
All three impact on each other, so, make sure you have all of them dialed.
Finally, remember, we are all individual. What works for one person, will not work for another. It is your responsibility to take ownership of yourself, the challenge you are undertaking and the challenges it will bring. Ultimately, that is why you signed up, no?
Tom Evans burst on the ultra running scene when he placed 3rd at the iconic Marathon des Sables in 2017. An unknown runner, what followed was a meteoric rise in the sport.
Tom joined me at our Lanzarote Multi-Day Training Camp in 2018 and his presence was a great success. I knew then, one day that we’d have him back…!
Tom doing volcano hill reps, Lanzarote 2018.
January 2023 and Tom returns to Lanzarote amongst a stellar line-up that included 8x Marathon des Sables champion, Rachid El Morabity and the amazing and inspirational, ‘Dead Man Running,’ Kevin Webber.
MDS opened the door for Tom. He followed up with a win and course record at The Coastal Challenge in Costa Rica.
A 3rd place at the IAU World Trail Championships, a foray in the world of skyrunning and suddenly top was on the start line of the CCC, one of the key races of UTMB week. Running a perfect race, Tom closed on the lead in the latter stages of the race, forged ahead and won the biggest race of his life. A sponsorship deal with adidas Terrex followed and the dream of Western States started to fall in to place.
Western States, the iconic 100-miler in the USA is a ‘bucket list’ dream for any trail and mountain runner. For Tom, it would be his first time racing such a long distance in one day. Taking a unique training approach, Tom moved to Ethiopia to prepare. Race day was a dream scenario with a podium finish and a time that dipped under 15-hours.
Victory at Tarawera Ultra in New Zealand at the start of 2020, whet the appetite for what was to come.
A certain pandemic got in the way of racing plans and Tom decided to have surgery to fix a persistent injury problem. 2021 was very much a year of rehabilitation gaining strength and fitness.
With the arrival of 2022, Tom is back and it is now a great pleasure to confirm his attendance at the 2023 Lanzarote Multi-Day Training Camp.
With some new routes, new talks and workshops, new guests, the 2023 Multi-Day Training Camp will take what is already a special and unique formula and take it up several notches.
12th January to 19th January, 2023. Club La Santa, Lanzarote
Missing the 2021 camp due to the pandemic made the ’22’ camp even sweeter. Some may say it was the best camp yet…? To be fair, we think they are all great.
We have so many attendees returning year-after-year and this keeps me on my toes always looking for something new. In the last two editions we have added a ‘Long Day’ that is a point-to-point run offering an opportunity to see and experience new trails. In 2022 we added some new routes that offered a little more technicality and vertical meters.
2023 WILL BE THE BEST YET
Rachid at the 2021 MDS on stage 1.
First and foremost, we will have some new coaches and special guests. The big news is that 8x Marathon des Sables champion, ‘King of the Desert,’ Rachid El Morabity will join us, arriving Friday 13th and departing Monday 16th. He will join us for two runs, provide a 2-hour Talk & Worskshop and yes, I am pretty sure you will all get an opportunity to have a photo taken with him.
The amazing and inspirational, ‘Dead Man Running,’ Kevin Webber will join us for the whole week. He will look to inspire each and every attendee by quite literally, leading by example. As Kevin says, “Got told my prostate cancer may kill me in 2yrs but here I am, nearly 5 years later running ultra marathons, raising awareness and funds for Prostate Cancer UK!”
With some new routes, new talks and workshops, new guests, the 2023 Multi-Day Training Camp will take what is already a special and unique formula and take it up several notches.
Day 6 of the Lanzarote Multi-Day Training Camp is the ‘long day’ covering a marathon on a beautiful point-to-point course that starts in Uga and concludes at Club La Santa.
The route was first introduced in 2020 with great feedback. The 2022 route was extra special due to the current weather – sun, warm, high winds and Calima. You actually couldn’t get better training conditions for a desert race.
The route is a perfect way to sight see and experience the best of Lanzarote. Early miles pass through countless black sand and wine fields.
At all times, the landscape is magical and unique, the resulting backdrop from the greatest recorded eruptions which occurred between 1730 and 1736.
The area is delicate and protected, so, for the most part, a route weaves its way through the landscape which must be followed.
While there are few high points (in meters) on the island, it is possible to ‘rollercoaster’ and in our marathon point-to-point we accumulated 1500m+.
The wind was strong all day, gusts almost lifting us of our feet.
From Tinajo, the fina third of the route, the conditions became increasingly hard as the harder ground became softer with large amounts of soft sand. A Buff making for great protection.
In the latter miles it was head down and push on… Finally Club La Santa could be see in the distance. A marathon done in perfect test conditions.
As training days go, they don’t come any better than today…! With just one day left, many of the attendees are now tired and looking forward to some recovery time to let the stimulus from this training take hold.
Each runner has covered different distances but the below is typical for many!
Day 6 concluded with showers, food, recovery and well-earned calm and peaceful night.
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Day 3 of the Lanzarote Multi-Day Training Camp kicked off with volcano hill reps. This session has been on the camp for 6-years and is always a favourite.
Leaving Club La Santa we pass through La Santa village and then arrive at Subida el Picacho for the hill reps. We recommend 6 loops, some do a little less, some do a little more. Ultimately, with the warm up and warm down, most get over 16km and 500 to 700m vert. A great session.
Of course, each loop has a downhill section that allows recovery time but also the possibility to practice downhill run technique on challenging terrain.
An extended break for lunch was followed with an 8-mile/ 12-km run/walk for an overnight bivouac. This session is done in a self-sufficient manner (with the exception of tents/ water which are transported) allowing each participant to test packs, sleeping bag, clothing and food.
Tents pitched, we had a fire and beautiful calm and warm night was relished by all as they tested dehydrated meals.
Eventually bed called…
During the night, the wind came in full force making for a sleepless night for all. With most participants using pop-up or cheap tents (for convenience) it proved for some comical experiences. Sorry Liz 😉
The morning was an hilarious mess of broken tents and tired bodies. Everyone somehow seeing the funny side of the experience.
Please support this website. I believe everyone deserves to read quality, independent and factual articles – that’s why this website is open to all. Free press has never been so vital. I hope I can keep providing independent articles with your help. Any contribution, however big or small, is so valuable to help finance regular content. Please support me on Patreon HERE.
It was day-2 of the Lanzarote Multi-Day Training Camp and the first full day. It started with a brilliant 23.5km/ 15-mile coastal run starting from Club La Santa and heading out along the coast passing through La Santa village, circumnavigating a volcano and then hugging a single-track all the way to Caserio de Tenezar before travelling around Teneza Peak and then re-tracing back to Club La Santa.
We had four groups with Pierre Meslet leading the fast group, Sondre Amdahl and Ian Corless leading groups 2 and 3 which combined running with walking and then Inge Nijkamp leading the walkers.
The trail offers stunning views and a mixture of technical trail, dirt roads, rocks and sand.
After lunch, Elisabet Barnes did a 2-hour talk on multi-day racing, self-sufficiency, planning and preparation.
With a long day almost done, at 1730 an easy 3-5km (3-miles) run concluded the day to loosen off the legs.
Please support this website. I believe everyone deserves to read quality, independent and factual articles – that’s why this website is open to all. Free press has never been so vital. I hope I can keep providing independent articles with your help. Any contribution, however big or small, is so valuable to help finance regular content. Please support me on Patreon HERE.
A second-place finish at the 35th Marathon des Sables in October 2021 has set Japans Tomomi Bitoh up for The Coastal Challenge that will take place in Costa Rica, February 2022.
A relatively unknown when standing on the start line of MDS in Morocco, it soon became apparent that Tomomi was ‘one-to-watch’ as the race unfolded. Her relentless smile, positive attitude shone through resulting not only in a victory of the final stage marathon distance but 2nd overall.
Tomomi is new to the sport, in 2018 she became a freelance professional trainer and in April that year ran her first marathon, she now has a PB 2:59:32. Winner of the Fuji Five Lakes Ultra Marathon and the Fuji Goko Ultra Marathon 118km, Tomomi also races at a competitive level in Spartan events. Spartan will provide Tomomi a great level of skill sets that she will be able to utilize at TCC, especially with the mixed and challenging terrain.
Marathon des Sables was a breakthrough performance and the multi-day format of TCC in Costa Rica will bring a new challenge.
The Race
Hugging the coastline of the tropical Pacific, The Coastal Challenge is the ultimate multi-day experience that weaves in and out of the Talamancas, a coastal mountain range in the Southwest corner of Central America. The terrain is ever-changing from wide, dusty and runnable fire trails to dense and muddy mountain trails. Runners will cross rivers, boulders, pass under waterfalls, survive long relentless beaches and finally finish in the incredible Corcovado National Park, a Unesco World Heritage site with a stunning final loop around Drake Bay.
With two races available, an Expedition Run of 230km and an Adventure Run of 155km – TCC is a race not to be missed!
230km and 10.000m+
Join the race in 2022, February 5th to 12th, registration HERE
Please note, TCC requires full vaccination and documented proof will be required.
Please support this website. I believe everyone deserves to read quality, independent and factual articles – that’s why this website is open to all. Free press has never been so vital. I hope I can keep providing independent articles with your help. Any contribution, however big or small, is so valuable to help finance regular content. Please support me on Patreon HERE.
Episode 219 of Talk Ultra is co-hosted by two times MDS champion, Elisabet Barnes. We discuss the 35th 2021 race with expert discussion on heat from Dr Jodie Moss. We also have eight interviews with 2021 participants: Emma Burton, Gower Tan, John Murray, Kim Hutt, Mags McHardy, Martina Taylor, Paul Been and Pierre Meslet.
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Episode 219 is a Marathon des Sables special. After three postponements, the first in April 2020, a second cancellation late 2020 and then a 3rd cancellation in April 2021 finally saw the race take place in October 2021. October was selected due to climatic conditions typically being very similar to those of April. Little did we know that October would see freakish high temperatures that would impact on the race.
Stats show that 353 completed the event, Rachid El Morabity running the whole event in 21-hours, 17-minutes, and 32-seconds. Christine Taieb was 353rd in 72-hours, 41-minutes, 31-seconds.
From the 353 finishers, 91 were from the UK, Patrick Kennedy the fastest in 25:16:14 and placing in the top-10 with Martina Taylor the 91st in 44:06:16.
Below daily race summaries which were published from the Sahara during the 2021 race.
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IAN CORLESS 