Sunday 11th April 2004 -
Oued Amsailikh-Oued El Khait -
28 kilometres
Weather at 8h00 : 22,8 degrees c – 36% humidity
Weather at 12h30 : 41 degrees celsius, 15% humidity
Ranking - men
1>Mohamed Ahansal (Morocco)– D 2 – 1h51m01
2>Lahcen Ahansal (Morocco)– D 1 – 1h51m33
3>Hassan Oulmyr (Morocco)– D 601 – 1h56m01
4>Abdessadek Zaid (Morocco)– D 604 – 1h58m11
5>Marco Gozzano (Italy) – D 15 – 2h00m46
6>Mustapha Ait Amar (Morocco) – D 602 – 2h04m04
7>Eric Plantin (France)– D 229 – 2h04m22
8>Christian Demuth (Austria) – D 302 - 2h04m37
9>Abderrazak El Badaoui (France) – D 35 – 2h06m31
10>Marco Olmo (Italy) – D 14 – 2h09m51
Ranking - women
1> Marie Sammons (France) – D 94 – 2h40m31
2> Katell Corne (France) – D 33 – 2h40m36
3> Lisa Smith-Batchen (USA) - D10 – 2h47m41
At the outset
there were 587 competitors who started the first stage of the race
at 9 h 30 this morning. They ran alongside the
range of magnificent peaks of Jbel N’Housour for 9.5 kilometres
right up until CP1. At this point it was Abdessadek Zaid (604)
who was leading, followed a few minutes later by a group of eight
runners led by the Ahansal brothers. The runners crossed the peaks
in a pass and arrived at the second CP at 19 kilometers.
During the route, the landscape varied enormously : stony roads were followed
by camels munching on tufts of grass amongst small bushes (known to a few
as Tamari)
where they encountered their first set of small dunes. They also discover
a local plague : clouds of crickets which have devoured the area for the
past few weeks
The gap began to widen and at this point there were a group of four Moroccan
runners leading as they crossed the Kebch wadi : The Ahansal brothers (D
1 and 2), shoulder to shoulder with Hassan Oulmyr (601) and Abdessadek Zaid
(604). These four runners led right to the finishing line, and as they got
closer, the Ahansal brothers sped ahead and left the other two behind, where
they followed third and fourth respectively.
Mohamed Ahansal passed the finishing line in first place, with his brother
(six times the winner) close on his heels. He immediately started vomiting
: “It’s nothing serious, I just drank far too much water and
that’s upset my stomach a bit. I’ve got a strong feeling that
it’s going to be a real battle this year for the first few places.
I’ve seen some really good runners today” . He headed straight
for the anti-doping check-point, just as the Italian Marco Gozzano, made
fifth place : “I thought this stage would be easier. I was unprepared
for all the sand on the way : you think the ground is firm underfoot, but
when you put your foot down and it gives way, and that sets you off balance.
I’m happy with my position…but there are still five more stages
to go.…”
Once again, several runners let themselves get carried away by the excitement
of the start of the race and set off too quickly …only to regret it
later. Mohamed Yakoubi, who came in fifteenth today, said : “I had
planned to run it in 2h40 and I made it in 2h14…I might pay for it
later.” After today’s taster, the runners have had a chance to
acclimatise to their surroundings, paving the way for tomorrow’s 34
kilometers which will take them all the way to Lake Iriqui.
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