Marathon des Sables, or MdS, (French for Marathon of the Sands) is a seven-day, about 257 km ultramarathon, which is approximately the distance of six regular marathons. The longest single stage (2009) was 91 km long (2023 : 90.1 km). This multiday race is held every year in southern Morocco, in the Sahara Desert. Some runners regard it as one of the toughest foot races on Earth. The first event of the Marathon started in 1986.

History

The marathon was the brainchild of French concert promoter Patrick Bauer who in 1984 traversed the Sahara desert on foot and alone. He covered 350 km (214 mi) in 12 days without encountering a single oasis or desert community along the way. Two years later in 1986 the first Marathon des Sables was run. Twenty-three runners participated in the race with Bernard Gaudin and Christiane Plumere, both of France, finishing as the winning man and woman. By 2009 over 1,000 runners participated in the event and the Solidarité Marathon des Sables association was created. The aim is to develop projects to assist children and disadvantaged populations in the domains of health, education and sustainable development in Morocco. In 2017, two new Marathon des Sables events took place for the first time: the Half Marathon des Sables on Fuerteventura in the Canary Islands in September, and another full-length Marathon des Sables event in Peru in November. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic the 2020 Marathon des Sables (35th) was postponed from 3–13 April to 18–28 September, following a warning officially issued by the Ministry of the Interior of the Kingdom of Morocco as stated in the marathon's official website. It was eventually cancelled.

Winners

Notable participants

Incidents