Juan Sebastian Parra Duarte (D 1070) - COL
A passionate man

Juan Sebastian Parra Duarte (1070, COL) keeps smiling, even when he finds out, upon arriving from Columbia for the 25th Sultan Marathon des Sables, that all his luggage and all his son’s luggage had got lost… Other competitors chipped in, giving out this or that, so that father and son could be totally re-equipped. The legendary MDS solidarity is not just a word!

“I’ve always dreamt of being an Olympic athlete: I got a bad knee injury when I was 28 and I fought 10 years of physiotherapy to get my shape back, but then I gave up when I was 38.”

Juan Sebastian has always run races. The Marathon des Sables gave him a new dream: to participate, which he did in 2008.
“I learnt one must remain calm, use one’s intelligence and be respectful of the environment. I also learnt to search for a balance between mind and body. That’s the answer I’ve come back for: to find out whether I’ve reached that balance. For me there’s a clear parallel between the race and life: one faces and deals with difficulties in the same way.
My wish ? To make it to the top 50. » 

NB : Juan Sebastian broke his Achilles’heel a month agao, whilst training.