| Honour
to whom honour is due. So let's begin by Lahcen AHANSAL
(M) who seized victory on MDS for the 5th time. He dominates
the course to such an extent that it seems obvious to
say he's phenomenal. Only his brother Mohamed seems
to give him cause for concern and in winning three of
the six stages the latter certainly gave it his all,
but Lahcen knows how to pace himself and ended up winning
by 10mn. Gilles DHIEL (Fr) won third place having battled
hard. But who didn't battle hard this year? All the
competitors had to brave the dust storm. And my God
what an enemy it proved! particularly on the long stage
with its 30kms or so of dunes, 25 of them back to back.
It was a tough physical challenge but don't let's forget
the withdrawal rate was one of the lowest on record
of the last few years.
The female podium had a truly international allure this
year with Simone KAISER from Luxembourg up at the top,
followed by Maria Isabella TRUJILLO BARRIENTOS from
Colombia and Tania PACEV (US). Team victory went to
PADMA with the AHANSAL brothers and Lhoucine AKHDAR(Mor).
Whether it's the terrain, the neck and neck competition
or surreal weather conditions, each MARATHON DES SABLES
has known its share of difficulties since the race was
created. This edition was true to the race's legend
and will leave an indelible impression. Thank you and
bravo to all the participants whose determination was
so sorely tested.
Whereas the MARATHON DES SABLES is often thought to
be the toughest race in stages in the world, the DESERT
CUP is now down as amongst the most difficult non-stop
races in terms of pacing. The Jordanian challenge in
November 2002 is out there waiting for those of you
who love racing in the desert.
Starting off from the city of Petra and finishing in
Wadi Rum, this third edition will give competitors the
chance to discover the depths of the Red Sea, and will
above all put the challenges in reverse order. Enrolments
are limited so don't wait too long before reserving
a place.
We hope you've had a well-earned rest and for those
who'll be joining us on the DESERT CUP, see you soon
AOI |
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TIMING DESERT CUP
Next edition : 3 - 09
november 2002 |
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SURVIVAL KIT
No one should venture into the desert without water
and food reserves. The
regulations therefore require that competitors
carry (in addition to their regular water containers):
1 litre of water in two hermetic and solid 50 cl water
flasks. These additional containers must not be ordinary
minral water bottles, which can easily puncture. Competitors
must also carry an extra 2000 calories
packaged separately. The 2 flasks and the 2000 calories
will be sealed by the organisation.
OBJECTIVE
In order to establish how many calories are required,
competitors choose between 4 different objectives
(see race regulations). You should be realistic about
your objective because failure to meet it will result
in a one-hour penalty. Energetic drinks are not taken
into account in the total calories required as they
are too complicated to evaluate, particularly when
outside their original packaging.
Very important: the form stating your objective is
part of the registration file.
COMPETITING
IN TEAM
Teams are made up of 3 people and are necessarily
mixed. This means a team will be made up either of
2 women and 1 man or 2 men and one woman. This is
one of the particular features of the race. |
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THE PARTNERS
:
OUR
REPRESENTATIVES :
Anke MOLKENTHIN (D-AUT)
Chris LAWRENCE (GB- AUST- NZ- IRL)
Toshio MATSUNAGA (J)
Kana Production (M)
Cedric O.GRANT (CH - L)
Paolo ZUBANI (I)
Olivier SEPULCHRE (SP)
Sylvain DESCHENES (C)
Mary GADAMS (USA- AFS- RPC)
THE COMPETITORS :
Special thanks to the 609 COURAGEOUS participants.
AOI : Thanks to
an exceptional team of 90 volunteers.
CLASSEMENT GENERAL
1er
AHANSAL Lahcen (M) 18h23’16’’
2
AHANSAL Mohamed (M) 18h33’24’’
3
DIEHL Gilles (F) 19h46’54’’
4
OLMO Marco (I) 21h08’40’’
5
NUGRRE Dominique (F) 22h17’53’’
6
ERAZIN Johan (F) 22h41’21’’
7
VALLEE Albert (F) 22h44’44’’
8
HAWKE Ferg (Can) 22h51’03’’
9
BARKLEY Kurt (USA) 23h04’14’’
10
EL YAAKOUBI Mohamed (M) 23h07’15’’
CLASSEMENT FEMININ
1ère
KAISER Simone (Lux) 26h36’44’’
2
TRUJILLO BARIENTOS Maria (COL) 27h03’24’’
3
PACEV Tania (USA) 27h20’25’’
CLASSEMENT EQUIPE
1er PADMA (M) 20h13’44’’
2
TRI RUNNING RENNES (F) 25h05’47’’
3
EUROSPORT (F,D,I) 27h05’17’’
CLASSEMENT VETERAN 1 : 1er DIEHL
Gilles (F) 19h46’54’’
CLASSEMENT VETERAN 2 : 1er OLMO
Marco (I) 21h08’40’’
CLASSEMENT VETERAN 3 : 1er LE
NESTOUR Robert (F) 28h06’42”
CLASSEMENT VETERAN 4 : 1er LE
LOUARN Joseph (F) 37h10’48”
CLASSEMENT VETERANE 0 : 1ère
TRUJILLO BARIENTOS Maria (COL) 27h03’24’’
CLASSEMENT VETERANE 1 : 1er KAISER
Simone (Lux) 26h36’44’’
CLASSEMENT VETERANE 2 : 1er FRUSSOTTE
Monique (F) 31h25’36’
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TIMING MARATHON DES SABLES
Next edition 04 - 14 april 2003 |
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VENTS DE SABLE
Marathon des Sables SPECIAL 17e EDITION |
RESILIENT TO A FAULT
Competitors had never had to face such long dust storms starting up
every day from late morning and blowing relentlessly during the 2-day
long stage.
This kind of weather really wears you down... everything becomes more
difficult: following the markings, cooking, going to the toilet, you
name it. Despite it all, 565 competitors lived out their dreams and
crossed the finish line. If that isn't a feat!
DOPING CONTROLS
The French Athletics Federation (FFA) report: "out of the 11
controls carried out, 10 were negative and 1 positive; the latter
did not result in sanction as the medical file was in due form providing
justification of drug treatment".
It is therefore vital that during the medical checks before the course,
you inform the doctor of all treatment you are under or have recently
been under and that you show written proof of drug treatment (doctor's
prescription), failing which heavy sanctions will be imposed.
FFA LABEL
For the quality of the organisation, the care taken in ensuring the
runners' health and safety and the respect for the environment, the
MARATHON DES SABLES is the first race in stages to receive the French Athletics Federation Adventure
Sport Label.
GREAT FIRSTS
It's the first time a Canadian runner F. HAWKE and a American runner
K. BARKLEY have made it into the top ten. On the women's side, honours
went to South America as M.I. TRUJILLO BARRIENTOS from Colombia secured
a place on the podium and M. FERNANDEZ from Guatemala 7th place.
CERTIFICATE AND RANKING
In June, all the competitors in this 17th MARATHON DES SABLES will
receive by post the DEFINITIVE general rankings (individual and by
category), the official participation certificate for placed competitors
and a choice of photos with order form.
THE FILM
You're no doubt eagerly awaiting the film. All participants in the
17th MDS will be sent the film made by Cimbaly production at the end
of July. Those who did not take part this year will be able to obtain
a copy using the order form published in the next Sahara News or on
our internet site: www.darbaroud.com. |
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www.darbaroud.com
Judging by the more than 11,200 emails received and 1,250
sent from the bivouac during the course, the message service worked
very well. Messages sent to our usual email address or without an
ID number, however, could not be delivered. You had to follow the
instructions in the Sahara News N° 54 & 55.
site statistics
during the 17th MDS
Number of hits: 6,500,000
Number of pages consulted:
1,700,000
Number of one-off visitors:
more than 123,000
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Desert
Cup
PETRA
- WADI RUM
This year
the course will begin with the steepest part of the
Rift plateau,finishing in the sandy valleys of Wadi
Rum. These different difficulties will require different
management. It will be less cold when night falls as
you'll already have gone over the hills, but a lot warmer
when you finish...
THE
RED SEA
As the finish line is in the desert of WADI RUM, the
town of AQABA is not far away. You'll all be able to
stay by the sea and admire the sea beds, considered
to be amongst the most beautiful in the world. If you're
not able to put your feet in the water you'll at least
have the thrill of beholding the sea's wonders
via glass-bottomed boats.
WHO CAN TAKE PART ?
Many people ask themselves this question. You should
certainly be well-prepared but without underestimating
the difficulty of the race you don't need to be Superwoman
or Superman to finish the course. With 62 hours to complete
the 168 km you should be able to finish with an average
rate of under 3km/h ... You therefore just need to evaluate
your capacity well then pace yourself in order to cross
the finish line.
RECORD TO BE SET
Since the direction of the course has been turned around,
the difficulties will be different and the speed too.
As a result a new record is to be set,with the winner
receiving a free invitation for the following year.
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