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Oman Desert Marathon 2023 Stage 2

Posted on January 22, 2023 by talkultra

Stage 2 of the 2023 Oman Desert Marathon was a 55-km soft-sand and dune festival in intense heat.

With an 06:30 start, the early hours had a chill as the participants ran a relatively flat first 25km to the second aid station.

From here, the big dunes waited and what a magnificent sight they are. Stretching far and wide, they are a relentless rollercoaster of torture for the participants.

Crossing the first set of dunes could take less than 15-minutes for the top-runners, but for many, it was over an hour of exhaustion.

On the other side, a relatively flat and straight run, before another climb, a short section of dunes at CP3 at 35km.

Now the march to the line through relentless soft-sand and only CP4 at 45km offering some rest before the line.

Rachid and Mohamed, not surprisingly, dictated the pace from the start, often running side-by-side and chatting. They are true masters of this terrain and they make it look ridiculously easy.

Aziza El Amrany once again set the pace for the women and like the El Morabity brothers, she looks at ease and at home on this terrain.

As almost a repeat from stage 1, the Omani men chased hard and eventually the Alsaidi brothers would head the chase to the Moroccan duo.

For the women, Corina and Aziza spent much of the day together chasing Amrany.

In many resects, the writing was on the wall and it was once again Mohamed who beat Rachid to the line, this time, just by seconds. For the Alsadai brothers, Saleh finished 3rd and secured his 3rd overall on GC.

Aziza was too strong for the chasing duo and took another victory. This time, Corina broke away from Raji and managed to claw back over 4-minutes for the GC.

Mohamed El Morabity 5:11:57
Rachid El Morabity 5:12:26
Saleh Alsaidi 5:43:42

Aziza El Amrany 7:07:35
Corina Summer (SUI) 7:18:10
Aziza Raji 7:22:38

#omandesertmarathon

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Oman Desert Marathon 2023 Stage 1

Posted on January 21, 2023 by talkultra

The 4-stage, 165-km, 2023 Oman Desert Marathon started today with a challenging 47-km stage.

After a 3-year hiatus due to the Covid Pandemic, it was once again a pleasure to see runner’s travelling through the Oman Desert in self-sufficiency. The only items provided to participants is water and a place to sleep at the end of each day.

The atmosphere at the start was one of celebration with local vip’s present and many locals who would participate in the ‘free’ 10km, 5km and a 2km kids race.

The ODM Classic had the same start but quickly branched left and headed in the direction of the Oasis of Alwasil.

As expected, Rachid El Morabity dictated the pace for the men and Aziza El Amrany for the women.

The first day in a stage race is always a cautious one, nobody wants to go too hard and the race was close for much of the day.

Rachid was followed by his brother Mohamed and a strong contingent of Omani runner’s, in particular Saleh Alsaidi and his brother, Sami.

Aziza was followed by Corina and surprisingly, Aziza Raji, the pre-race favourite was further back.

Rachid and Mohamed played cat an mouse but in the last significant dune section, with just over 10-km’s to go, Mohamed opened a gap which he held to the line crossing in 3:53:31. Rachid surprisingly came in over 7-minutes later. The earlier hard pace set by Sami Alsaidi took it’s toll and it was Saleh who finished 3rd.

Aziza El Amrany looked very strong for the first two-thirds of the day but later looked to be suffering in the heat. She never lost her lead though and finished in 5:31:29. Despite Corina looking strong all day, Aziza Raji played the waiting game and pounced in the latter third of the day taking 2nd place in 5:37:53 to 5:45:57 for the Swiss.

Mohamed El Morabity 3:53:31
Rachid El Morabity 4:01:51
Saleh Alsaidi 4:19:34

Aziza El Amrany 5:31:29
Aziza Raji 5:37:53
Corina Summer (SUI) 5:45:57

#omandesertmarathon

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Oman Desert Marathon 2023 Preview

Posted on January 10, 2023 by talkultra

It’s countdown time to the 2023 Oman Desert Marathon.

Now in its 8th edition, the Oman Desert Marathon will take place January 21^st to 24^th. A self-sufficient race, the race takes place over 4-stages with a total distance of 165-kms.

January offers excellent conditions for a desert adventure, with highs anticipated and 25-degrees and lows of 17-degrees.

A unique race, the route provides participants the opportunity to explore and discover untouched sands and the highest dunes of Oman while running 47, 55, 42 and 21km.

“The OMD, changed my perspective on ultra-marathon running for the better. The desert is magical and beautiful, but will test you mentally and physically to your limit, but you will be a better person from it. The OMD event should be on every runner’s calendar.” – Adam May.

Arrival in Oman will be on January 20^th with transfers to Al Jawharat Resort in Bidiyah. The afternoon will taken up with admin protocols and a race dinner.

Stage 1 – 47km
Satge 2 – 55km
Stage 3 – 42km
Stage 4 – 21km

Daily start times fluctuate and interestingly, Stage 3 has three starts, 1200, 1400 and 1600.

Stage 4 has an 0800 start with the race concluded by 1300 at the Al Jawharat Resort in Bidiyah resort. In the evening, an award ceremony and prize giving will take place.

The Runner’s

While Omani runner’s will make up the majority of the field, there are participants from Spain, France, Ukraine, Italy, Germany, Poland, Britain, Belgium, Switzerland and not surprisingly, Morocco will have the main contenders for overall victory.

King of the desert, Rachid El Morabity, 9x winner of the Marathon des Sables will once again lead the field and he is without doubt, the hot favourite for overall victory.

Rachid’s brother, Mohammed, will be his main contender and should Rachid have a bad day, his brother will be able to pounce.

For the women, desert specialist, Aziz Raji, also a winner of Marathon des Sables, will be the main protagonist not only for the female victory, but quite possibly, a highly-ranked overall placing.

How to follow:

Daily reports and images will be issued on this website (connection allowing) each evening and a full and detailed race summary will follow after January 24^th. On IG, @iancorlessphotography and @marathonoman

We look forward to welcoming you to the Oman Desert Marathon experience.

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Marathon des Sables 2022 #MDS2022 – Stage 4 85.8km – Part Two

Posted on March 31, 2022 by talkultra

The 36th Marathon des Sables ‘long day’ of 85.8km continued in to the night with runners pushing through darkness and in to a second day to complete in the allocated 35-hours.

The men’s race was fast and furious, read HERE

The women’s race may not have had the nail biting action of the mens race, nonetheless, it started with Sylvain Cussot and Anna Comet Pascua running together to Cp1 and beyond. Anna, no doubt running with reserves and safety ensuring that she did nothing to put at risk her overall lead on the general classification.

As the race progressed, Anna eventually moved away from Sylvaine and increased her lead to cross the finish line in 9:43:19 – an incredible time and one that brings her ranked highly on the GC overall. It’s yet to be confirmed but she may well be in the top-10?

Sylvaine has embraced the MDS and has revelled in the conditions, always smiling, always happy. She crossed in 10:10:53 and now her 2nd overall is secured.

Aziza Elamrany once again ran a brilliant day and her 3rd place on the stage in 10:23:20 ahead of the 2021 chapion, Aziza Raji in 11:17:12, now places her 3rd on GC.

Notably, Beth Rainbow from the UK had a great day and finished 5th in 11:34:19.

The long day is feared for many reasons, the distance, the weather, the night, the unexpected… As in every edition, there are demons to be fought and mental battles to be won. Conditions were, in general, kind, with less heat, some cloud, the odd rain shower and a cooler night. As I write, some are still battling to achieve a finish, the main priority is to keep ahead of the camels!

The camels mark the end of the race, you must keep ahead of them.

Tomorrow, stage 5 is marathon distance and the 2022 champions will be crowned. The women’s race, barring a disaster will be a formaility with Anna, Sylvaine and Aziza placing 1, 2 and 3.

The men’s race will be a nail biter. Early in the week I disclosed that I was convinced that the El Morabity brothers had a plan and strategy, that came to fruition yesterday. Now with the marathon stage to go, the duo will mark Aziz and make sure he is kept under control so that 1st place and 2nd is secure. At some point, Mohamed will allow his brother Rachid, to take over the front of the race and gain the 37-second deficit that currently places him 2nd and therefore will allow him his 9th MDS victory. Can Aziz mess up this plan?

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Marathon des Sables 2022 #MDS2022 – Stage 4 85.8km – Part One

Posted on March 30, 2022 by talkultra

It may well have been one of the most exciting days in the history of the Marathon des Sables… It was the feared long day of 85.8km. A long one for the 36th edition but the longest came in 2009 with 92km!

As I write, the top men have finished and the first woman is to cross the line, so, I will update on the men and follow up on the MDS ‘rest day’ with a report on the women’s race.

Today was all to fight for. Aziz Yachou was in 1st place, Mohamed El Morabity in 2nd and surprisingly, 8x MDS champion, Rachid El Morabity was in 3rd – 9-minutes behind the leader.

Some had said Rachid was not in form. I doubted this… To me, all along, Rachid had respected and feared the ability of Aziz and he had to race smart.

with 25% of the race covered, the lead was 4-minutes

Rachid started day 1 from the front to build time over Aziz, he won the stage but his time gain was minimal. He therefore had to rethink and place doubts in Aziz’s mind about his fitness and strength. He set out on day 2, once again from the front but relinquished the lead and lost time. On day 3 he ran for over an hour in the lead and was then caught and passed, once again losing time. His brother however raced strong.

Come the long day, my thoughts were Rachid would play his ace and his brother would defend and block helping facilitate his brothers 9th victory. Of course, this plan was risky. It required superb form and confidence from Rachid. It also required Aziz not to be a strong.

It was a masterpiece day. By 10km Rachid had 2-minutes, at 20km 4-minutes, then 6, 8 and at 50km the lead was over 10-minutes. It was incredible to watch.

Behind, Mohamed marked Aziz but sensing Aziz fading at the 50km mark, Mohamed also made a move and pulled away from his fellow Moroccan. Now bridging the gap to his brother.

Mohamed made his own move to leave Aziz and gain time

Racing comes no better than this. Chess in running.

After a stunning day of racing, King Rachid crossed the line in 7:27:04. Mohamed crossed in 7:30:46 gaining a great deal of time on his brother from the 50km to 85.8km finish. Finally, Aziz crossed 7:39:48.

Of course, everyone was keen to know the overall classification? With 15:25:26 elapsed, Mohamed El Morabity leads the 36th MDS. Rachid is in 2nd just 37-seconds behind and now Aziz is 3rd 4:34 behind Mohamed.

One thing is for sure, the ‘marathon’ stage is going to be a nail biter as the El Morabity brothers put their final phase of their plan in to action.

Wow, what a day!

Now the race continues for the many hundreds who will see darkness disappear and they enjoy a journey through the night. The allocated time to complete is 35-hours.

By MDS standards, today was not a hot day. Cloud moved in and out, once or twice it rained and as the sun disappeared, the wind started to increase. It may well be a cold night for many!

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Marathon des Sables 2022 #MDS2022 – Stage 3 32.1km

Posted on March 29, 2022 by talkultra

The relentless wind and sand storms eased during the night to reveal a clear day that was considerably Warmer than those that had gone before. Another windy day was forecast and of course sand would be blown about, hopefully the full-on no visibility conditions of the previous day would not reappear – everyone hoped! As afternoon came the wind constantly increased making conditions challenging!

Julien Chorier climbing to the second ridge

Stage 3 at 32km is a beautiful stage with two exposed ridges split by Cp1, a flat plateaux crossing, the climb of Jebel El Otfal from the normal side and the descent using the gully which the runners climbed on stage 2. At the bottom, a small section of dunes and then flat terrain all the way to the finish. For some, me included, one of THE best stages in all of MDS history. The two ridges and Otfal provide more climb, exposure and challenge and if you like the mountains and vertical, this is a Sahara dream.

Vertical and technical terrain – a dream

Rachid, once again, went off from the front and set the pace. Three days in a row he has done this – most unusual. I chatted with him in camp before the stage. He was having breakfast with his brother. I asked how he was, his reply simple, he winked and said, “I am very good my friend!”

I am convinced he and his brother have a plan!

Rachid controlled the front of the race for an hour or more and then relinquished the lead to Mohamed and Aziz. The duo pulled away and crossed the line together in 2:36:43.

Rachid, once again for the 2^nd day finished 3^rd and lost more time, his finish coming in 2:38:21.

For those in the know, Rachid never concedes time and does not not finish 1^st often. To allow his brother and Aziz to pull away only confirms for me that he has a big plan ready for the long day… It’s risky, he is now nearly 9-minutes behind the race leader, Aziz. My thoughts are that he wants Aziz to believe that he is not in good form, that he is struggling and then on the long day, he will unleash a ferocious pace, take back the lost time and gain time to take the lead. Of course, Mohamed will be used as a distraction and a game maker to make this happen. It’s exciting to see how this will play out.

Of course, the other scenario is that Rachid really is tired and not on form? I don’t believe that.

Anna Comet Pascua once again delivered a solid performance and with her skyrunning background, I am sure she will have revelled on the ridges and climbs. She won the stage in 3:26:49 ahead of Sylvaine Cussot in 3:35:51. A smaller margin than yesterday but no doubt Anna was conserving energy for the 85km long day.

Aziza Elamrany once again finished 3^rd in 3:49:11 ensuring that the Moroccan home ground will be happy with a podium ranking.

Tomorrow is the long day and as always it will be a key day that will dictate the potential outcome of the 36^th MDS. Nothing is guaranteed, anything can happen on a day of this length and in these conditions. Each runner will need their ‘A’ game to run to their potential and dreams.

Stage 3 of the 36th Marathon des Sables has Anna Comet Pasciu and Aziz Yachou secure their leads ahead of the stage 4 long day. — Mds ants heading to Jebel El Oftal

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Marathon des Sables 2022 #MDS2022 – Stage 2 38.5km

Posted on March 28, 2022 by talkultra

Rachid went off like a shot again… Pushing the pace and behind everyone pursued. Then suddenly, in the space of a couple of km’s he relinquished the lead and hovered somewhere around 10^th. I am not sure if there had been a ‘natural break’ requirement or if this had been an intentional move? Certainly it wasn’t blowing up!

His brother, Mohamed took over the lead and on a climb before Cp1 was pushing the pace with Aziz following.

Rachid was now further back. It all made sense, in my opinion, the brothers were playing a tactical game on Aziz. I guess my cycling background is at work and my conclusion is Rachid has sent Mohamed out as a decoy, to allow Aziz to take over the lead in the race and placing Mohamed in second. This is a great move potentially. It would take pressure of Rachid to defend and force Aziz and Mohamed to control the front of the race and thus allowing Rachid to pounce… Rachid will need to feel very confident for this move, if not, his 9^th victory may not happen!

After Cp2 and climbing the stoney side of Jebel Otfal, Mohamed descended first and he continually looked over his shoulder for Aziz. Aziz followed not long later, within 60-seconds. It was however 4-minutes before Rachid appeared, now in 3^rd. Was Rachid tired, or was he playing the tactic as mentioned above?

Aziz descending Jebel Otfal to take 2nd on the stage and overall lead

At the line, Mohamed crossed in 3:07:40, Aziz in 3:08:52 and Rachid 3:16:22 for the 38.5km stage. You don’t usually see a result like this in the early stages of MDS for Rachid!

The overall placing Aziz in first, Mohamed in 2^nd and Rachid in 3^rd, 5:13:29, 5:17:56 and 5:20:38 respectively.

The 36^th Marathon des Sables is now Aziz’s to defend and the brothers to pursue. What an exciting 36^th edition this is going to be.

The women’s race was strung out with Anna Comet Pascua dictating from the front with an incredibly strong performance. I said yesterday, she came her to win and this is being proven with her result in stage 2, crossing the line in 4:06:17.

Sylvaine Cussot as on stage 1 pursued and always with a smile, she finished a strong and convincing second in 4:18:46.

Aziza Elamrany had showed promise on stage 1 for a podium place and today that came true finishing ahead of the 2021 MDS champion and fellow Moroccan, Aziza Raji, her time 4:39:38.

The overall podium after 2 stages placing Anna and Sylvaine 1 and 2 ahead of Aziza Raji in 3^rd, 6:58:37, 7:15:11 and 7:45:03 respectively.

It’s all to fight for on stage 3!

Stage 2 was marked by extremely strong wind and sandstorms that battered the runners. There was also an increase in temperatures recorded at cp2 of +10deg in 1 hour. At the time of writing there have been 49 drop outs today.

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Marathon des Sables 2022 #MDS2022 – Stage 1 30.3km

Posted on March 27, 2022 by talkultra

The 2022 Marathon des Sables got underway today, the 36^th edition coming quickly after the 35^th 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.

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.

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 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?

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!

Julien Chorier faded to 5^th in 2:16:12 and Mohammed El Morabity after a slow start moved in to 3^rd 2:10:16 with Cédric Fleureton 4^th 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.

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 finished 2^nd in 2:56:25 and the 2021 champion, Aziza Raji finished 3^rd in 2:59:41. Amelia Culshaw from the UK was 4^th 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.

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.

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