The day when time no longer existed…

Stage 4, day2: Taourirt Mouchanne –Oued El Djaid – 82.2 km

On check point 4, night has fallen. It is 8.00 pm and runners arriving to the CP are visibly sorely afflicted by the 51 km just run.

Clumsy gestures as if all their body knew now was how to run

Once they reach the CP and get their water, all they want to do is sit or lie down, straight away, in one of the Berber tents or directly onto the rocky ground if the tents are full. Several urgent objectives: relax painful leg and shoulder muscles by getting rid of one’s ruck-sack AND get out one’s tin bowl, something to make a fire and prepare some food quickly… by the light of head-torches and lighting-sticks (which competitors must wear on their bags to mark their presence in the darkness).
Some still manage to laugh and joke, but most faces are closed, eyes lost in emptiness. They are just too tired. Their gestures are often clumsy, as if their body had forgotten everything, except walking and running. The strange ballet of white lights, fluorescent green sticks and flying sparks make for a surreal atmosphere.

The child of Zagora knows that, in the desert, nothing is ever for sure

This stage is obviously not the same for all. The top runners seem to fly above obstacles, rushing to get to the finish line before night-time. Mohamad Ahansal (D1 - MOR) completes the stage in 07h 09’13’’, about 20 minutes before Salameh Al Aqra (391 - JOR) and an hour and a half before Michael Wardian (698-USA). Mohamad is closer than ever to the final victory, but in the desert, nothing is ever for sure, and this child of Zagora knows that better than anyone else.
Night deepens. On the finish line, ghost runners appear in the distance, their front torch swinging fast or slow, depending on their pace. Then they appear in full light, unable to believe they have finally made it, as if some of them needed to touch the arch to convince themselves it’s all for real. Some scream with joy, some cry, others just collapse, like James Cracknell (812 –GBR). The leading British runner, so exhausted he seems drunk, can boast a proud 17th place, but for now, he has to go straight to the clinic to treat dehydration and what seems to be hypoglycemia.

Towards the middle and tail of the race, distraught and beautiful ghosts

The bulk on runners is still kilometres away from there, feet stumbling upon rocks or sinking into the sand, eyes hypnotized by the meager rays of light given off by individual torches. Some just plow on mechanically, their mind empty of all coherent thoughts; others meet perfect strangers to whom they give the most intimate details about their lives. The sight of such exhausted troop fills one with pity and total admiration. By a “tour de force” which must somehow be connected to the magic of the Saharan night, they manage, all of them, to be beautiful: their courage and will-power make them so.
At day rise, many of them as still on the track, looking up to the sun, happy that the terrible night is over, fearful of the temperatures to come. They don’t hasten their pace. They just want to keep going, step after step, to reach the bivouac.
Today, no-one can deny it, the real kings and queens of the Sultan Marathon des Sables are those competitors lost towards the end of the ranking, those “humble ones” of the sport hierarchy.

On this stage, the true heroes are the last ones to get there

Time, in the desert, doesn’t exist. The first nomad you get to meet will tell you that like it’s the most obvious thing in the world.
So it is perfectly natural that those who take the most time to complete the stage end up the true heroes of the day.
When they finally walk toward their tent, stumbling hard, exhausted to the point of collapse, in total disbelief that they’ve reached their destination at last, other competitors, including the top of the race, shout a “bravo” that comes from the heart, a mark of the deepest respect.
The type of respect only those who know exactly what those heroes have been through can show.

Provisional stage ranking:

1) Mohamad Ahansal (1 - MOR): 07h 09’ 13’’
2) Salameh Al Aqra (391 -JOR) : 07h 27’ 03’’
3) Michael Wardian (698-USA): 08h 34’ 09’’

Provisional general ranking :

1) Mohamad Ahansal (1 - MOR): 15h 11’ 14’’
2) Salameh Al Aqra (391 -JOR) : 15h 51’ 33’’
3) Michael Wardian (698-USA): 17h 40’ 14’’

Women’s provisional stage ranking :

1) Monica Viladomiu Aguilera (1020-SP) : 11h 29’ 00’’
2) Jolanda Linshooten (90-NDL) : 11h 29’ 00’’
3) Jennifer Salter (936 – GBR) : 17h 40’ 14’’

Women’s provisional general ranking :

1) Monica Viladomiu Aguilera (1020-SP) : 22h 47’ 13’’
2) Jolanda Linshooten (90-NDL) : 23h 19’ 45’’
3) Jennifer Salter (936 – GBR) : 24h 46’ 40’’

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

Retrace the route of the 4th stage thanks to GPS points: all you have to do is copy and paste on such sites as Google Maps or Google Earth

Bivouac 4 : N30 37.937 W4 44.666
PC 1 : N30 37.178 W4 36.690
PC 2 : N30 42.752 W4 33.919
PC 3 : N30 48.463 W4 31.448
PC 4 : N30 44.625 W4 26.402
PC 5 : N30 43.544 W4 20.737
PC 6 : N30 45.371 W4 15.279
Bivouac 5 : N30 49.891 W4 12.977