Often described as the “toughest foot race in the world”, 2009 marked the 24th edition of the infamous Marathon des Sables. It involves running 256kms (154 miles) across the Sahara desert, under the searing heat of the Moroccan sun, which for some will have been the biggest challenge of their lives.  However, on the 27th March the 807 runners were faced with a new challenge — rain.  And very few could have predicted that the heavens above the Sahara would open to the extent they did, as can be seen in the video below.

Winner of the MDS 2009

The heavy rainfall resulted in the 6 day race being cut down to 4. However, the rain did nothing to slow down Morrocan Mohamed Ahansal, who came first in a remarkable 16hrs 27 minutes, winning the race for a second year in a row.  Mohamed’s brother has won it 10 times.  The top finishing Brit — in 13th place — was William Davies with a time of 20hrs 5 minutes (3:13 behind the leader), who before training for the race had never run a marathon let alone 5 marathons in the desert. The full results can be found here.

If you’re interested in participating in 2010, then you’ll probably have to wait a few more years.  This author applied in June 2008 for a place in 2011’s marathon.  Within 30 minutes, all the places were sold, each having put down a deposit of £500.  It just goes to show that after 24 years, the popularity of the race has not lessened. More details can be found on the Marathon des Sables offical website for British participants. Otherwise, you need to go to the organisers at Darabourd.com for more information.