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Saturday
8 April 2006 - Check-in day
Ait Saadane -
Temperature : 36°C -
Very strong winds
As is the custom, the
2006 edition of the Marathon des Sables
began with
a day of technical and administrative
checks. One by one the 731 participants
are checked to see they have the compulsory
equipment: compass, lighter, knife,
survival sheet, sleeping bag, torch,
whistle and above all the minimum 2000
calories per day to cover the 227 kilometres.
It turns out that three competitors
don’t have all the necessary
kit but they escape disqualification
thanks to the solidarity of the group
who rally round and provide the missing
items. It’s particularly multi-cultural
this year : with Nepalese, Japanese,
Jordanian, rubbing shoulders with Malaysian,
Argentinian and South African competitors.
The day was also marked by a violent
sandstorm: force 5 wind-speeds topped
50km/h and shook the bivouac to the
core. But in the words of Paolo Zubani
from Italy, an old hand on the race
with a modest 17 MDS under his belt, “the
Marathon des Sables, it’s all
about adventure”. Exactly. And
it’s off to a good start!
The
eye of the expert
Patrick Bauer, founder and director
of MDS, shares his thoughts each day
on the next day’s stage.
«
Tomorrow’s route takes the runners
past a school we helped renovate. They’ll
see it’s up and running. That’s
another aspect to MDS: taking care
of the terrain we cross. The stage
is designed to get runners acclimatised
and is shorter than the following days
but it’s hot out there, there
are some sandy parts and a bit of climbing.
When you put those factors together
it won’t be as easy as all that!”
in we cross. The stage is designed
to get runners acclimatised and is
shorter than the following days but
it’s hot out there, there are
some sandy parts and a bit of climbing.
When you put those factors together
it won’t be as easy as all that!” |
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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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