People tend to start off running for fun but then discover it's a sport that demands a lot of discipline. In the case of the MARATHON DES SABLES, most competitors will have trained hard before arriving. The number of hours spent training is then supposed to bear fruit during this week of competition. The MARATHON DES SABLES is nonetheless an adventure and many things can happen during the race. The desert is not your average playing field and what would normally seem quite easy can suddenly turn complicated.

The proverbial grains of sand that stop the wheels from turning can be a reality here. Whether you're competitor or staff, you have to be patient, even wise, to cross the desert without hiccups. It's better to come with the idea that, whatever happens, it's ultimately an adventure. In this period of final preparation, despite paying attention to every last detail, you also have to know how to relax. Nothing is worse than already being stressed out at the start of the race. It's above all a joyful meeting. The pleasure of
sharing the same passion with men and women from all over the world should be more important than the idea of winning. It should bring back childhood memories of having challenged friends with a bit of: "I'll race you to the end!". No matter who wins, all the participants will come out enriched by the experience and that's worth any victory.

See you soon in the desert.
AOI

CALORIES
Reminder of the minimum calories to be presented during the technical controls in Morocco 31 March.

- Breakfast at hotel. Free time the morning, lunch not provided
- Transfer in from hotel to Ouarzazate airport. Departure flight Arrival Paris (see your flight ticket).

All information on the 16th Marathon des sables (general ranking, emails, pictures, news...) and Desert Cup 2001 on our site
http://www.darbaroud.com

ATLANTIDE ORGANISATION Internationale
BP 98 - 10003 TROYES Cedex - FRANCE
Phone. : (33) 03 25 76 57 77 / Fax : (33) 03 25 76 87 75
E-Mail : aoi@darbaroud.com - WEB : http://www.darbaroud.com
Sahara News number 46 realized by CIMBALY International - Pépé and Marie

Sahara News n°46 - www.darbaroud.com - Webmaster : Neuromedias

Confirmed marathon runner
Following 13 marathon victories (Turin, Rome and New York in 1998) several second places (New York and Berlin 2000) and several records in Prague andRome in 98 or Padou in the year 2000, F. FIACCONI (I) is now embarking on the MDS. With an Italian record of 2h 25'17'' she'll be giving the best runners reason to worry. And that includes the guys.

Forbidden
Gas containers are not allowed aboard flights. Not only will any competitor whose container gets confiscated be deprived of a hot meal, but the lives of others can be put in danger. What's more, those in charge of cleaning up the bivouac have had the nasty surprise of seeing rubbish bags explode in their faces when waste is burnt. So no gas containers. Thank you !

Participants
630 participants are enrolled this year including 70 women and no less than 43 official teams. 34 nationalities will be present: Algeria, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Great Britain, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Korea, Luxembourg, Mexico, Morocco, Niger, Poland, Scotland, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Turkey, USA, Zimbabwe.

Ranking on internet
The rankings available on our internet site will be provisional. They'll be shown as and when the results come in, so will not be exhaustive straightaway. If a name does not appear it may be that the runner is not yet ranked or that he/she has not yet arrived. The particular conditions in the desert slow down the treatment of information; you should therefore not worry and consult the update on the site at a later date.

French and international television coverage
For the 4th consecutive year, CIMBALY Internationale, (MDS production team) will provide TV channels with daily images summarising that day's leg. These images will be sent by satellite. TV channels present at the event:
Eurosport, MCM, France 2 and 3, AITV, KBS Korea, BBC Science, 2M Morocco, RTM Morocco, Rai Italy, Tele 24 Switzerland, Spain TV, ...
Planned* TV broadcasts : Canal+ "Nulle part ailleurs Matin" : 23/03/01 between 07H15 and 08H30. Reports over the week between 02 and 06/04/01
Eurosport "Sport report" daily at around 23H from 01 to 07/04/01. 26-minute feature on 08/06/01, 10 and 16/06/01. Infosport : daily reports from 01 to 07/04/01 (hours vary). Equipe TV : daily reports from 01 to 07/04/01 (hours vary). Euronews : daily reports from 01 to 07/04/01 (hours vary). France 3 "Tout le Sport" : daily reports from 02 to 07/04/01 at around 20H10. France 2 "Stade 2" : Sunday 01 and 08/04/0.. M6 "Sport 6" : Sunday 01 and 08/04/0.
Further programming is currently being prepared (see update on our internet site www.darbaroud.com).

*note : any last minute de-scheduling or re-scheduling is beyond our control.

French and international press / radio
Articles/reports to come out
Jogging International (May), Running Attitude (April), Vivre l'Aventure (May or June), Parfum d'Extremes, New Look, Sport Première (April or May), Télé Loisirs, Vital, Femme actuelle, le Journal du Dimanche, Dernière Nouvelles d'Alsace, Le Courrier de l'Ouest, Le Populaire, La Montagne, La Voix du Jura, ...
Reporters from Poland, Holland, Italy, Spain, United Kingdom and USA will also be present to cover the MDS 2001. Radio : Le Mouv "carnet de route" broadcast daily on FM in Marseille, Lille, Lyon, Toulouse, Angers, Valence, Nice, Brest, Rennes, Nantes, and Ajaccio. RFI, ... Further contracts are being negotiated (see update on our internet site www.darbaroud.com).

Team enrolments
CTM : this team from Compagnie des Transports Marocains (Moroccan Transport Company) have good reason to hope they'll be well placed . L. Lakdhar (M) and M. Aït Amar (M) have often been in the first ten over the last few years. L. Jaja (M) - present last year - is a strong veteran 1 runner, and they're joined by a new recruit in the shape of H. Oulmyr (M).
Eurosport : a solid team if ever there was one. F. Cresci(F); 3rd in the Desert Cup 2000 Jordan Telecom and running his 13th MDS in a row, G.Flamant(F) on his 6th MDS and 4th solar pump installed on the race route are joined by T. Kunath (GER); 13th in 1999 and happily participating this year for free having drawn lots for a place during the Grande Course du Verdon.
Netikos : The Italian telecommunications company has pulled together a cracking team with M. Ahansal (M); winner in 1999 and second last year, G. Diehl (F); 3rd last year plus a member of the winning team, and M. Gozanno(I); 5th on the 14th MDS. They could well be the winning trio.
Jogging International : Another strong team. Renowned globe runner K. Mosta (F) has been running MDS alongside C. Ginter (F) (winner of the DC 1999) for some time now. The 2 comrades always finish well and will be offering a good solid base to third team member K. Sasse (F); participating in his 4th consecutive MDS.
VCD : They're all from the Aube region in France (home to the organisation headquarters). E. ChatoN (F) performed very well when he ran MDS in 1996. This time he's back with brother Pascal and L. Berns (F) from the company Neuromedias who manage our internet site.