First steps heading South
Stage 1 : Irhs – Khermou : 29 km.

The crowd of competitors resounds with cries of excitement. Those who take part for the first time are truly impatient to find out at last what precious metals have been melting in their race dreams for the last few months.
Veterans cannot wait to embrace again the sensations of their previous experiences and to discover new landscapes.

Patrick Bauer, overwhelmed with emotion at the start of this 25th edition.
They’re all jostling each other on the start line: the fast ones to get a head start as soon as possible, others just to be on the picture, next to the cream of the cream.
Patrick Bauer gives the final instructions after a long exclamation. Standing on the roof of a Land Rover, he contemplates the group of 1013 runners. Each time, it is the same emotion overwhelming him, but this year is even more special: it is the 25th anniversary of the Sultan Marathon des Sables. Last night, after the general brief to the competitors, he got back to the organization’s bivouac his eyes all shiny: “People have been showing so much respect since we’ve arrived on the bivouac, there have been so many thanks, what I feel today is very strong.” The next day, minutes away from sending the runners on their way in the presence of the Governor of the Province of Errachidia, Mr Abdellah Amimi, it is that same wave of gratitude, friendship and admiration expressed by competitors that overwhelms the head of the race.
At 9.10 am, at last, runners set off with a great freeing cry. They start off on a rocky plateau where the top of the race easily makes the difference.

A fight at the top of the race by runners from all over the world.
The top of the race becomes immediately clear and all the favourites are there: Mohamad Ahansal (1 - MOR), last year’s winner, but also exceptional runners from many different nationalities, Jordanian competitors Salameh Al Aqra (391 -JOR) and Mohammad Alswaiti (390- JOR), Spanish competitors Jorge Aubeso Martinez Jorge (989-SP) and Julio Gomaz Camacho (994-SP), British competitor James Cracknell (812-UK),American competitor Michael Wardian (698-USA) and Italian competitor Lorenzo Trincheri (583-IT), without forgetting the ever dangerous Aziz El Akad Aziz (2-MOR) and Mustapha Aït Amar (4-MOR).
It is easy to guess it will be a tough fight for the lead, leaving others to deal with the extra pressure.
Behind, the atmosphere is altogether different amongst those who often chose to discover progressively the difficulties of terrain and climate so as not to “burn out” on day one. There are also those who really want to spare themselves and start walking at the first slope or when the ground gets soft because of the sand, which can happen even in the rocky zones of the jebels.

A warm welcome from the children of Mekta Sfa
Slightly before check point 1, children from Mekta Sfa, a near-by village, have built up an arch made of palm tree leaves for the competitors who get cheered as then run by and move on to discover that flat stones have been laid in the water of the Rheris wadi so that they wouldn’t get their feet wet.
Landscapes alternate on a background of softly sloped valleys covered in black stones, giving way to flat stretches of bushy weeds and small dried trees.
The weather is slightly cloudy and not too hot this morning, which makes competitors feels quite comfortable.
Check point 1 is set in a field of small dunes and provides a welcome opportunity to catch one’s breath after 13.4 km. The true challenge of the day is a short but very steep climb towards kilometer 19: pretty harsh on the legs… Competitors then go down to a vast field of small dunes, at the beginning of which they find check point 2, at kilometer 22.2.

Ahansal Mohamad, one step ahead.
“Only” 7 km left to get to the new bivouac, which some will get to with cries of joy. In the end, Mohamad Ahansal takes a clear lead with a 02h11’08’’ timing, leaving the second place to US runner Mickaêl Wardian, 8 minutes behind (02h19’39’’) and the 3rd to Jordanian Al Aqra (02h20’17’’).
Le leading lady is Monica Viladomiu Aguilera (1020-SP), from Spain, with a timing of 03h01’11’’, followed by Dutch competitor Jolanda Jolanda (90-NDL) [03h03’59’’] and last year’s winner, Morroccan runner Touda Didi (3-MOR) close behind [03h04’03’’].
The runners, most of whom got to the end of the stage, are not necessarily over-joyed. They all realized the temperatures shot up in the course of the day (with 33°C at midday) and they know this was a relatively easy stage (by MDS standards), in terms of length and technical difficulties.

First night under the sign of food self-sufficiency
On the bivouac, no-one is showing off. Everyone goes back to their tent, looking forward to sharing with tent-mates what they discovered about the desert and the sometimes magical images they have stored in their memories. It is also time for endless discussions on race strategies, usually interrupted by the need for a nap as the afternoon heat gets too heavy.
Tonight, the smell of tins cooking on camp fires will indicate the first lyophilized meal of the week.
The Sultan Marathon des Sables is getting its bearings: the adventure is but beginning.

Treat yourself to satellite views of the Sultan Marathon des Sables:

Retrace the route of the first stage thanks to GPS points: all you have to do is copy and paste on such sites as Google Maps or Google Earth

Bivouac 1 : N31 15.005 W4 22.393
Check point 1 : N31 08.695 W4 20.499
Check point 2 : N31 04.119 W4 21.053
Bivouac 2 : N31 00.677 W4 21.309