MDS Press Release - Stage 1

Stage 1 : 03/04/2011 - Press release n°2
Ahansal and Rocca steal the show!

Impatient, stressed, a knot in their stomach, but happy to embrace the challenge. At last! The 849 competitors of the 26th Sultan MARATHON DES SABLES had been waiting for a year for Patrick Bauer to give his famous count-down from the top of a Land Rover: an AC/DC song sent them off to the Merzouga dunes. Some, like Mohamad Ahansal (D1-MAR), took off like fire, at very high speed. Others started at a much more moderate pace so as not to burn themselves off on day one. Their up to now pain-free legs took them to the first check point, after 13km of rocky plateaux. Luckily, the temperature was « only » 29,5°C at 12am and they were running down-wind, so the day happened to be less compicated than expected. At least that’s how French runner Guido Di Paola (D265-FRA) put it, after completing the stage in a a little more than four hours: “ The most stiking thing about today was definitely the dunes. It was absolute hell as one had to walk nearly the whole time. You can only run a bit downhill but you have to be very careful. But with such an incredible setting, I don’t regret coming to the Sultan MARATHON DES SABLES. I’ve been feasting my eyes for 33km”.

It wasn’t surprising to see the Moroccan favourite Mohamad Ahansal (D1-MAR) take the head of the race. Already impressive on the plateaux, he really came to his own on the dunes, his running not so unlike flying. Whilst some were making the most of the scenery, taking pictures and shooting videos, Ahansal dispersed his competitors all across the desert. His fellow Moroccan Rachid El Morabity (D4-MAR) was the only one capable to put on a real fight, getting to the finish line only 1’12’’. Jordanian competitor Salameh Al Aqra (D236-JOR) came third, a good ten minutes after Ahansal.

But the real novelty of this 26th Sultan MARATHON DES SABLES lies with the suspense and the intensity of the women’s race. Extremely well prepared, the ladies fought a fierce fight. The favourites were last year’s winer Monica Aguilera (D505-ESP), Morocco’s Touda Didi (D5-MAR) of Great-Britain’s Jennifer Salter (D832-GBR), but the show was stolen by newcomer Emma Rocca (D107-ESP), 2010 team raid adventure world champion. The Spanish runner completed the stage in a stunning time of 3h31’25’’, before French competitor Laurence Klein (D280-FRA), who had wone the 2007 Sultan MARATHON DES SABLES. Kelin being only 3’12’’ behind, we can safely assume there’s an exciting battle ahead. The challengers are many, such as Monica Aguilera (D505-ESP), who came 3rd today, over 20 minutes behind, and dutch runer Jolanda Linschooten (D259-NED), 25 minutes behind. The great loser of the day is Touda Didi (D5-MAR) who suffered pain from the start, jut like last year, to the point of having to stop for 30 minutes at the second check point: “My muscles are aching and so’s my back. The docs have treated me. For now, I just want to rest”, said she after crossing the finish line, over an hour after Rocca (D107-ESP).

After a good night’s sleep, the competitors ready to set off for the second stage will face the 38km that separate Kourci Dial Zaid from Jebel El Mraïer, and many more dunes and wild vegetation. The stuff beautiful memories are made of.