DUTCH DES SABLES
Childcancer.org
Time & Tide Challenge 630
FARM Africa
St Helena Hospice
Mercy Ships
Noma
Facing Africa
Oxfam
Children's Cancer Foundation (Germany)
Fred Hollows Foundation read articles
24/03/2007 - Administrative
and technical checks
Communiqué n°1 : 24/03/07 at 15h
Saturday 24 March 2007 Jebel Irhs Temperature : 31° at 14h Humidity: 18% at 14h
Sunny, windy
Competitors arrived on bivouac Friday afternoon ;
now settling in and anticipating the start of the
the 22nd edition of MARATHON DES SABLES. Given a
warm welcome with strong gusts of wind. This is a
major day of preparation for competitors and organisation
alike.
One by one around 760 competitors (final are number
will be known at end of the day) have been going
through the checks : obligatory equipment (survival
blanket, sleeping bag, compass, whistle etc.) plus
the minimum 2000 calories per day.
Minimum weight for back-packs is set at 6.5kg… Philippe
REMOND (F-D314 - twice French marathon champion)
had to find an extra half kilo of energy bars to
satisfy the race regulations.
Strong spirit of solidarity on the bivuouac : Ethan
KRIMINS’ (US-D518) bag has been lost on route
from the US but fellow runners have all chipped in
so he’ll be able to start the 220km race tomorrow.
The organisation have checked the entire back-pack
of 25 top runners ; 9 of them have also undergone
anti-doping controls carried out by the FFA (French
Athletics Federation)… present during the race
for several years now. Results will be known before
the end of the race. Consolation all round for the
Italian Carlo PARISOTTO (I-D369) who is being repatriated
today for medical reasons…
This edition of MDS is as international and multicultural
as ever with more than 30 nationalities ranging from
Morocco to Malaysia, from Senegal to New Zealand.
The largest number remain as ever the French, followed
by the British.
Competitors will be tasting their last real meal
tonight before moving over to the delights of dehydrated.
Food self-sufficiency begins tomorrow with the first
stage of the race : 29.3 km.
