Competitors woke up
to the pleasant surprise that the previous day’s windstorm
had given way to blue skies and warm temperatures. Another happy
surprise : Georges Schroeder (D792) from Luxembourg
is able to begin the race despite losing his luggage in transit
to Morocco. Thanks to the solidarity of other runners, he left
with a ruck-sack and essential equipment.
The weather conditions at the start of the race were ideal – very
welcome in the circumstances since the athletes see this first
day as a challenging start to the week: « it was a bit tough
for a opening stage. Tough but beautiful” says Daniel Bossant
(D38) from France. Just 3 kms into the race and the runners had
to negotiate a steep slope leading up to a narrow pass, so narrow
it caused a desert log-jam or two as runners queued to get through.
The line of competitors stretched out several kilometres as they
crossed Jbel Dlat El Atrous, literally meaning “ram’s
shoulder mountain”. Runners savoured the unique experience
of treading many stromatoliths underfoot. These fossils are hundreds
of thousands of years old, dating back to when the Sahara was an
ocean. It came as no surprise to see the favourites, the Ahansal
brothers, taking a clear lead as from check-point 1, followed by
fellow Moroccans Hassan Oulmyr and Lhoucine Akhdar. The four runners
opened up the piste for the others, guiding them over a series
of small but tricky dunes and rocky slopes on the way to CP 2 – a
beautifully situated check-point overlooking the last series of
dunes before the finish line.
The same group of runners are first to cross the finish line, but
without Hassan Oulmyr who lost precious time repairing a broken
back-pack.
The 20th edition of MDS has got off to a stunning start with breathtaking
landscapes and a good dose of sand. More of today’s steep
slopes are expected as the race progresses. More than the usual
warm-up, competitors got a good foretaste of what’s in store.
