Rawhi Abeidoh (Reuters)
6 April 2000 - Casablanca, Morocco - Runners from 30 countries will head into the Sahara Desert when the toughest race on earth, the Marathon Des Sables, kicks off on Sunday.
A record 680 competitors, each carrying his or her own food and gear, will run 238 km (149 miles) in temperatures that can reach a searing 45 degrees Celsius, organisers told a news conference on Wednesday night.
"We've extended the challenge by another 18 kms (11 miles) from last year's to set a distance record," said Patrick Bauer who launched the race in 1986 with 23 runners.
"It is a test of the limit a human being can go. It requires courage, determination, stamina and a good cause."
Competitors supported by a staff of around 300, including a 30-man medical team, will gather in Ouarzazate, the gateway to the desert, on the eve of the race.
After presenting a clean bill of health, runners are given a list of rules on what kind of food to carry, how much water to drink, snakebite treatments and other medications.
"No ointment or greasy products on areas that rub – between thighs and calves. The dust soon makes it like sandpaper," they are told. "Blister treatment at night is the daily routine."
Dehydration is the biggest fear
Most runners, however, see dehydration as their biggest challenge.
"Blisters are only a mechanical problem. I've seen many runners continue despite them. The main fear is dehydration. That is what stops us," said Lahbabi Abdelwahab, 47, a Moroccan architect running for the second time.
Abdelwahab's 14-member team -- five women and nine men -- will be raising money for the handicapped in Morocco.
Brian Dennehy from Kent, England, is running to raise money for a Marie Curie cancer care charity, the organisers said.
For 77-year-old Frenchman Claude Compain, it will be the fourth successive race.
But the most-told tale among experienced runners and first-timers is that of Italian Mauro Prosperi who lost his way in 1994 and was found 12 days later, 400 km (250 miles) away in Algeria.
He had survived by eating snakes and drinking his urine, Bauer said.
"That was in 1994. He pleaded for two years to join, but after all the stories woven around him we were not so sure.
"The third year we allowed him and he made it."
Bauer said the runners would be able to contact family and friends through satellite phones and the Marathon des Sables web site: http://www.aoicimbaly.com
