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MDS2006 /© Pierre-Emmanuel
Rastoin |
Paul Le Guen (355),
humble footballer
He’s played for France and
PSG, was champion of Europe and as
a football coach he’s taken
Olympique Lyonnais to victory at
the French championships more than
once. But here Paul Le Guen is a
simple runner among hundreds of others
and he’s suffering in the same
way. In fact that’s exactly
what he was looking for : « an
adventure with mates, in the desert ».
As a member of the Legendre Bretagne
team , he’s not short on moral
support and is performing well in
the race despite foot problems. “I
admire those that are really running
the race, they’re true athletes,
but I also admire all those who’re
hanging on, who just want to finish … people
like me. The Marathon des Sables
is one of the few competitions where
you find both categories.” Paul
Le Guen is a man of few words so
you tend to pay attention when he
says: “It’s a week that
marks you, for sure… ».
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| Lionel
(238), Julien (239) et Tony
(240) |
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MDS2006 /© Pierre-Emmanuel
Rastoin |
Lionel Trivel (238),
Julien Martel (239) et Tony Daurelle
(240) : what happened to the pipes
?
Lionel Trivel, Julien Martel and Tony
Daurelle are firemen in Saint Etienne.
First-timers on MDS, they’ve
rigorously prepared their first participation….
including testing their equipment for
more than a year. They’ve trained
on sandy terrain to have the feeling
of sand under their feet, tried freeze-dried
food and slept in sleeping bags with
the heat on full blast. They were ready
and it’s normal they should now
be in 6th place in the team general
rankings. Julien Martel is also 10th
in the individual rankings. But our
firemen didn’t come to MDS empty-handed.
They’ve donated a 17-seater minibus
to an association working with the
village of Achbarou. It’s a precious
gift and a particularly meaningful
gesture for guys who are accustomed
to saving lives. « We’ve
realised here just how important water
is. Back home no one seems to appreciate
that nowadays. » |
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MDS2006 /© Pierre-Emmanuel
Rastoin |
The Kayser family (Mum and Dad plus
daughters Anne et Lis) are running
as a team: Roi Grenouillet et Princesses
(King frog and princesses). They’ll
be sharing their experience of the
race with us every day.
Mark
Kayser (5 participations) : «I
suddenly wondered why on earth I
was running alone.
So
I decided to picnic after CP1 and
wait for the girls. It ended up being
one of the best stages ever because
I was with my princesses. We chatted
the whole way except for the hill-climbs.”
Simone Kayser (5 participations,
3 times winner) : « I was horrified
to see him still sitting at the check-point… and then I understood. I
was worried about the stage because I haven’t eaten for the last two
days and my shorts are virtually falling off. Anyway I had a bit of beetroot
juice at the finish line … it’s feels like red wine so it did me
a world of good !
Ann (age 24, 1st time) : « Thank goodness King frog was with us.
He showed us how to cross the dunes and we ended up finishing 3 hours earlier
than planned.
I was relieved they reduced the stage so we didn’t have the big climbs”
Lis (age 23, 1st time) : « Hats off to the organisation … they
managed to handle the course despite the mad conditions. Happy birthday to
my grandad – who’s 80 today. »
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Results 6 are available
(last update 15/04/06 - 22h50
french time)
number of dropping out (stage 6) : 0 |
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June 2005 : opening date for application.
31 july 2005 : application deadline.
28 february 2006 : closing date for fees.
07 april 2006 : departure* France/Morocco, transfer to first bivouac.
08 april 2006 : technical and administrative checks,
acclimatisation day.
09 - 15 april 2006 : the event.
16 april 2006 : transfer, dinner and night at hotel, relaxation,
lunch (at participants’expense), awards, entertainment,
dinner, night at hotel.
18 april 2006 : return* to France.
* those not taking the charter flight to and from France are required to book
their own flight arrangements. Contact your country representative for further
details.
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