Marathon des Sables

A self-supported race

The Marathon des Sables has been run in the Moroccan Sahara since 1986. Patrick Bauer came up with it after crossing 350 km of desert alone on foot in 1984; the first edition brought together 23 runners. The 41st edition, called MDS Legendary, covers about 250 km in six stages, to be run or walked. The long stage, around 80 km, is spread over two days. Exact distances are given to runners in the road book when they reach the bivouac.

The principle comes down to one rule: each runner carries all their food for the week in their pack from day one. The organisers supply water, at checkpoints about every 10 km and at the bivouac in the evening and morning, as well as the tents. The rules require at least 12,000 kcal (kilocalories) in total, about 2,000 a day, checked before the start.

The field is broad: according to the organisers, more than 30% walk, the average age is 47, and 90% of starters finish. The cut-off corresponds to a pace of 3.5 km/h. In 2026, more than 1,500 runners from 62 countries started.

The 2027 timetable, from the runner's side

• Entries: both packages, at €3,990 and €4,390 per person with two hotel nights, are sold out. A waiting list is open on the official website.
• Arrival: via Marrakech or Ouarzazate. Organisers' shuttles link Marrakech and Ouarzazate on 31 March and 1 April; hotel nights in Ouarzazate are booked by the runner.
• Race: on Friday 2 April, transfer to and set-up at the bivouac, followed by nine days in the desert.
• Return: on 12 April, shuttles leave Ouarzazate for Marrakech at 6:00 local time. The organisers ask runners to book a return flight after 14:00 local time.
• Medical file: an original signed certificate and a resting electrocardiogram with its trace, both dated within the month before the race.

Before, after, and for those who come along

The race takes place far from the roads, on a course that changes every year. Friends and family who make the trip follow it from the region, and southern Morocco lends itself well to these days of waiting.

Sabaro recommends arriving two or three days before the transfer to the bivouac, to acclimatise and finish packing, and keeping two quiet nights after the race. In the Skoura palm grove, about forty kilometres from Ouarzazate, Dar Ahlam and L'Ma Lodge, from the Sabaro selection, suit these days of rest; Ouarzazate remains the most practical base for the shuttles. In early April, several events fill the hotels of the south and of Marrakech: Sabaro recommends booking as soon as your entry is confirmed.

For a companion, race week is a chance to drive down the Draa Valley to M'Hamid, where the International Nomads Festival is also held in spring, or to visit the ksar of Ait Ben Haddou. The Rallye Aïcha des Gazelles finishes in Essaouira on 3 April, just as the race begins.