21st Marathon des Sables
Sahara South Morocco, 212 km
Stage 1 : Ait Sâadane/Rich Merzoug - Sunday 9 April
Distance: 28 km – 2 checkpoints (1.5L of water at each)
Temperature: 41°C - Hygrometry: 14%
731 runners at the start
I start the race with a 7.7kg backpack (without water), it includes warm clothes, sleeping bad, security material and 4.5kg of food (21,000 calories). This 1st stage is supposed to be the acclimatization day but the race starts really fast and I wonder if these guys know that we have 212km to run. Like many others, I start walking between CP1 and CP2 at a steep hill climb. I enjoy the great 360 views from the top until I see that the finish line is so far away… I finish in 3h34, at this time the windstorm has blown away most of 100 tents, the staff is too busy to help us and I’m too tired and lazy to put back the tent. It’s too windy to cook so I eat my dehydrated soup and mashed potatoes with cold water. Around 5pm the wind stops and we can have a quiet evening and a good night.
Ahansal finishes this stage in 2h03, the last one finishes in 11h30. 12 competitors retired.
Between CP1 and CP2 (© Pierre-Emmanuel Rastoin)
Stage 2 : Rich Merzoug/Ma’der El Kebir - Monday 10 April 2006
Distance: 35 km – 2 checkpoints (1.5L of water at each)
Temperature: 42°C - Hygrometry: 15%
719 runners at the start of today’s stage, 12 had retired
We can hear at the briefing that <<this could be the most difficult start to MDS ever. The competitors were given a rough ride yesterday and today should be the same. The problem remains the same: the combination of high hygrometry levels and high temperatures mean some competitors are over-heating.>> I take it easy, I run the first 7km then I walk fast instead of running, I’m glad I have my MP3 because it’s going to be another long day. The sandstorm begins when we start the 4km dune section (after CP2). The sandstorm darkens the sky, it’s cooler, and everybody is forced to walk, nobody pass me in these spooky conditions. After the dunes, we had 7km on a dried-out lake, we couldn’t see further than 300m, I was too tired to run, I had 3 blisters and I was close to get lost a couple of times. In summary it was a “never ending story” and I hated this stage. I finished in 5h27, like yesterday the tents have blown away, I have to eat cold and the sand is everywhere, I start wondering what I am doing here.
Ahansal finishes this stage in 3h03, the last one finishes in 10h26. 65 competitors retired.
MDS2006/© CP2, Climbing the old mine
Sand storm in the dunes
Stage 3 : Ma’der El Kebir/Maharch - Tuesday 11 April 2006
Distance: 38 km – 3 check-points
Temperature: 39.4°C - Hygrometry: 18%
663 runners at start of this stage, 68 retirements
The good thing with yesterday is that I was so slow that I saved my energy and today I feel good. The weather is nice, there is no wind and the scenery is beautiful. It remains the same most of the day; great variety of landscapes and colors. The cliffs around give some contrast to the sand and help to see the progression. The CP2 is at the top of a hill offering great views. What a difference with yesterday. The 3km of dried-out lake before CP3 is the tough part of the stage, the ground is white and reflects the light of the sun, it’s time to slow down the pace (well, I wasn’t fast anyway ;-) Few kms later there is a solar powered pump; some runners dare to drink the water, I just splash myself to cool down but I rapidly regret it as the smell is terrible, even the camels avoid me.
I finished in 6h01, good news the tents are up, I have plenty of time to eat and see the doctors to take care of a few blisters. The socks I used today are too thin, I throw them away and try to clean the ones I had the previous days. Two good news in the evening; we have an extra bottle of water and I start receiving emails, thank you all.
Ahansal finishes this stage in 3h10, the last one finishes in 11h39. A total of 123 competitors have retired so far.
MDS2006/© P. Gatta
Stage 4 : Maharch/Jebel El Mraïer - Wednesday 12 April 2006
Distance: 57 km – 5 check-points (3L of water at each)
Temperature: 39°C at 18h - Hygrometry: 13%
607 runners at start of this stage, 123 retirements
Morning briefing: << In view of the severe weather conditions which have taken a heavy toll on competitors, the organization decided to reduce this long stage by 15km. The decision was also made to double the water rations at the first 3 check-points.>> Because of this change the start is delayed until 10am. I can’t believe the pace of the race at the start and after 1h I’m probably ranked ~250. I don’t even try to follow, alternating fast walk and running. Not surprisingly, many runners have to take long breaks at the CP to recover... The sceneries are beautiful with lots of sand dunes, looking like postcards. The windstorm starts again but we have it in the back, sometimes there so much sand in the air that is almost dark. I am not too tired when I reach CP5, I manage to run until the end of the stage and finish right before dark in 9h13, I enjoyed every minute of this stage, as I am slow it would have been better for my rank to keep the initial distance of 72km.
I set a new personal record, I drunk 13 liters of water since the beginning of the day, drinking almost every 5 minutes and eating every 30 minutes (total of 3000 calories).
AL Aqra finishes this stage in 4h53, the last one finishes in 25h14. A total of 146 competitors have retired so far.
P. Gatta
Rest day - Thursday 13 April 2006
Temperature: 33°C - Hygrometry: 19%
Today is a rest day for the 374 who finished the 57km yesterday, the 233 others will pass the finish line throughout the day. The last one finishes at 11:14am after 25h14 of effort. I spend the day sleeping, eating and walking around in the camp; there are ~750 runners, 450 staff, 150 tents, many 4 wheels drive, several trucks and one helicopter. Everything has been installed in few hours and will disappear tomorrow. Believe it or not, at 6pm some runners decided to play football, they probably hadn’t enough with 158km of the last days. ;-)
Dunes and MDS camp seen from helicopter (© ©Pierre-Emmanuel Rastoin)
Stage 5: Jebel el Mraïer/Kourci Dial Zaïd - Friday 14 April 2006
Distance: 42.2km (full marathon) – 4 check-points
Temperature: 28.1°C - Hygrometry: 20%
Laser to guide runners from CP3 to CP4 once night falls
585 runners at start of this stage, 146 retirements
I ate most of my food, so I’m glad to take the start with only 5.5kg in my back (including water). I start quickly and try to follow the pace of some good runners, and since we have strong head wind I manage to stay behind a tall guy. ;-) I pass the CP1 (10.5km) in 1h05, so far so good….CP2 (22.5km) in 2h15, still good… Dunes of l'Erg Znaïgui (30km) in 3h10, not good anymore. ;-) I feel bad and I’m freezing which are usually the symptoms of a hyperthermia, I definitively stop running, water my head, I can forget the ranking and focus on the camera instead of the stop watch. The dunes end at CP3, I take few kg of sand out of my shoes and continue the walk toward CP4. In a better shape I could have run here, but in my state I can’t, I try to calm down listening to some music while half of the planet is passing me. I’ve partially recovered when I reach CP4, resume running and pass the line after 5h40.
Ahansal finishes this stage in 3h16, after 5 days of race, a backpack, the heat, and many km of dunes…that’s very impressive. The last one finishes in 11h45.
Surprise: we had concert of classical music at 8pm by musicians of the Paris orchestra.
Stage 6: Kourci Dial Zaïd/Merzouga - Saturday 15 april 2006
Distance : 11.8km - 0 checkpoints
Temperature: 34.3°C - Hygrometry: 19%
585 runners at start of this stage, 146 retirements
Everybody knew that the pace will be crazy for this short stage, even though we are crossing the highest dunes in Morocco (300m) and the second highest in the world. I run the first 7.5km in 28 min (16km/h) and keep running in the dunes. Finally I run the 11.8km in 1h03, I was so proud until I understood I was ranked 113th, they are all so damn strong. Anyway, this is the best I could give, I’m happy, one more time I’m very impressed by the level of the competitors, their motivation and the exceptional friendship and atmosphere throughout the race. There are many of races around the world every year, I encourage you to try it out, that’s an exceptional experience.
Merzouga dunes (© Pierre Verdy)
Overall
Lahcen Ahansel won in 17h14, Annette Herdman finished 585th in 67h09.
I finished 111 in 31h01. 585 runners finished the race out of the 731.
Finish line (© P. Gatta)
Complete results on www.darbaroud.com