Last March, the Spanish runner Addelkarim el Hayani managed to finish the Marathon des Sables barefoot. A race run in the Moroccan desert in five days and over 250 km.
For some, this is the challenge of a lifetime. The Marathon des Sables is a race apart in the world of running. Run in total food autonomy (only water is given to the participants), it takes place every year in the Moroccan desert over 230 km and five days of race.
Traditionally, the best runners in the world are not necessarily found on this event. Even international runners tend to avoid it. This is mainly due to the fact that the race is a roaming event, which requires the runners to manage their nutrition and recovery between two stages, something that European and North American runners are less used to doing, as they often compete in one-day races.
For others, the Marathon des Sables is an opportunity to launch themselves into crazy challenges like the Frenchman Loury Lag, who had tried during the 2021 edition to run it entirely barefoot ... At 35 years, this explorer was far from launching his first extreme challenge, but finally, the Saharan desert and the burning sand will have been right to place at the end of the third stage. The state of his feet imposing to the epic medical to repatriate him urgently and to look after his wounds.
"The top part of my skin disappeared on the front of my foot," he explained shortly after his retirement. "I ran 20 km on the second layer which literally burned off. Within two seconds, the adrenaline was gone, the pain began to be felt and was replaced by sensations of knife wounds of untold violence. I am immediately declared unfit by medical decision. The state of my feet in tatters, full of blood, the skin torn off, I take a big blow. After half an hour it becomes unbearable, tears of pain end up running down my cheeks. In time with a good mind, I was rushed to camp to treat my burns before I could stitch up the open wounds."
This first aborted attempt to finish the Marathon des Sables barefoot did not prevent the Spanish runner Addelkarim el Hayani to try the adventure during the 36th edition held at the end of March (see photo below). The latter is used to barefoot running and has already run in the snow and the desert over long distances. This Moroccan, who fled his country alone at the age of 12, first completed the first 30 km stage in six hours, walking most of the time (the time limits of the Marathon des Sables allow good walkers to complete the entire race).
But it is especially the queen stage of 86 km that was the most difficult, requiring him to walk for 32 hours. Finally, Addelkarim el Hayani arrived at the end of this Marathon des Sables, becoming the first to finish it barefoot. "The most difficult was the fourth stage, it has affected me a lot, my foot soles were painful during several kilometers" he explained at the arrival to AFP. "But I am surprised, I have zero blisters on my left foot and no blisters that exploded on my right foot. I live in Canada, it is minus 37 degrees. Here it's the opposite". Now it's time for him to climb the highest peak in Mexico, the Pico de Orizaba (5675 m), barefoot.