Since its creation, MARATHON DES SABLES has had more than 10,000 participants. Many personalities have made their mark on the competition, but this individual is one of the few (along with Marco Olmo from Italy) to distinguish himself as much by his discretion as by his qualities as a runner. This discreet man is nevertheless the only competitor to have run and finished 22 MDS; i.e. more than 5500 km of desert. He will, of course, be back again in 2010 to celebrate 25 years of the competition. It’s dizzying to think of the hours devoted to training and rucksack preparation!
This young man from Jura (France) is a Lamourantin, i.e. an inhabitant of Lamoura, where he works as a catering manager. A real mountain dweller, he trains in the winter practicing cross country skiing. Excellent when it comes to the ‘non-stop’, where he is able to focus his efforts, he has long been one of the best MDS competitors, achieving 10th0 place and a team victory in 1996. He finished 2nd in Jordan in 2000 and was part of the winning Desert Cup team in Mali in 2003.
The whole ATLANTIDE team remembers ‘edition zero’ of the Desert Cup in Jordan in 1999. Setting off modestly as usual, he ended up taking the lead at the 60th km, with 108 remaining to run...
Anyone who saw Christian at the last CPs will still smile at the memory. He wasn’t convinced he was in the lead. Around 30 km from the finish, he started to have doubts. He asked where the runners behind him were, how many km were left to go, if it was true that no other runners had passed... And then, between the last CP and the finish, he got lost due to unclear course markers. After losing quite a bit of time finding his way once more, he finally crossed the finishing line. He thought he had been overtaken, cursing at getting lost. It took a moment for him to realise that he had actually won his first international race! He was on cloud nine and his face shone like a child opening his Christmas presents.
Although he has proven himself to be as modest as he is discreet, he is not the kind of man to keep his 20 years’ plus of experience to himself. He has become a master in the art of preparing his rucksack: for him, everything is weighed almost to the last gram. He gives some kindly tips when asked for advice on this, but is not to be counted upon too much for training advice... He trains alone, in silence and concentration, and he is not very keen on discussing the best or worst way to prepare: it’s up to each competitor to find what suits them.
Christian often declares that the MDS has changed his life. He thinks about it all year long and it is THE leading event on his sporting calendar. Like all addicts, he has ended up getting those close to him hooked. His son Anthony thus became a volunteer at AOI, before taking the further step of signing up as a runner. He made a sensational start in the event, finishing 81st in the 21st MDS, then 63rd in the 22nd and 28th in the 24th edition: the specialists will appreciate his performance...
For the 2010 edition, another Ginter will line up beside Christian on the starting line. His eldest son, Sébastien, coming to experience his father’s passion at least once.
For this 25th MDS, Christian will wear the symbolic number 23; granting him this modest request is the least we can do... Mr Christian GINTER, meet us at the finish line!
