April 10: Third stage proves most difficult so far
By Dan Morrison

A racer after three days in the sand

"All competitors receiving a vital medical assistance perfusion will get one hour penalty. Farthermore a second perfusion will lead to the elimination of the competition in the compliance with the rule of the competition."

Okay, so it isn't a flawless translation from the race organization's native tongue into English. In a nutshell, the notice warned the runners that anyone receiving an I.V. drip would be penalized one hour the first time. The second time they would be disqualified.

Tough rule. Tough race.

Three runners threw in the towel voluntarily at the end of stage 2, so the field is diminishing on its own even without official disqualifications.

Stage 3 was seen as one of the two crux days, and it was expected that at least a few more runners would give up before stage 4.

In the 12th Marathon des Sables' "Road Book" — the course description booklet each competitor receives — stage 3 has only six lines:

K-0: START heading 88 degrees. Sandy terrain with vegetation.
K-2,5: Entrance of Dunes "Erg Mhazil." Take heading 88 degrees.
K-(?): CHECK POINT N#1 on empty terrain; heading 88 degrees.
K-23,5: End of dunes.
K-24: ARRIVAL BIVOUAC N#3 "Dayet Chegaga."
K-(?): The exact place of CHECK POINT N#1 will be transmitted at the end of the stage.

Doesn't sound like much, until you stop to consider what it must be like to run up and down 15 miles of steep sand dunes hundreds of feet tall in 125-degree sun.

As Robert Nagle observed, "There are three rules concerning sand dunes: Avoid them if you can; run on virgin, unbroken sand if you can't; and look for wind ripples which indicates possible hard crust."

It rained all night the previous night, leading some runners to hope that might give the dunes at least a slight crust. It turned out to be hope in vain.

It was impossible for the runners to avoid the tall dunes until the first checkpoint, which wasn't put in place until the night before. But once through that marker, the competitors quickly began to look for ways out of the hellish soft sand. It was guesswork, mostly. Some were lucky, others got lost.

The media convoy, unable to penetrate the fortress of dunes in the relative comfort and safety of their Land Rovers, drove a wide arc around the natural obstacle and arrived at the bivouac area at the end of the stage.

Journalists waiting for the runners

And waited.

The runners, a hell of a lot smarter than the press, had already left the dune and found a road that led to the bivouac area.

Except the frontrunners, that is. Russian defending champion Andrei Derksen, Marco Gozzano of Italy, and third-place runner Jesus Corredor, with no one to follow, found their way out of the dunes but missed the road to the finish line. By the time they realized their mistake and backtracked, they had lost over 10 minutes of precious time.

Back at the top of the sand dune, the media eventually caught on that all the cheering down at the bivouac area probably wasn't in honor of their dune-climbing skills, but in fact for the runners continuing to cross the finish line.

Moroccan runner Mohamed Ahansal got the best time of the day, coming in at just 1:58:40, with his brother Lahcen right on his heels.

Derksen and Gozzano, who had fought a furious battle for first position, relaxed and crossed the finish line simultaneously once they realized today would not be their day.

Stage 3 was anticipated as one of the toughest, yet with cunning and guts most runners turned it into just another run through the desert.

American runner Mary Gadams dropped back a bit in the pack.

"I felt strong," she said while resting in her tent at the end of the day. "There was a low point at about three-quarters of the race, where I started feeling weak. So I started to drink more. I felt really good towards the end. But I didn't sleep well last night, so I don't feel great now. I feel very weak."

Returning to Morocco to run this race for the fifth time, Gadams knows what it takes to finish. "It's a matter of making sure one stays hydrated and keeps one's spirits up. More than half of this race is a mental thing."

Staying hydrated is difficult for those not used to running in 125 degrees of dry heat. It is so hot and dry that the runners seldom feel like they are sweating, because the perspiration evaporates immediately. Many fail to compensate.

American runner Peter Miles, who felt tired but relatively well at the finish line, suddenly began to shake in the early evening. He was rushed to the medical tent and given an I.V. — and a one-hour penalty.

But he recovered quickly and intends to see the race through to the finish. For all but a handful, that is challenge enough.

Dan Morrison is a freelance writer-photographer based in Austin, Texas.