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A BIT LIKE
HITCHCOCK
Necessarily mixed male/female, running in teams of 3
amounts to a race within a race. You're an integral
part of a group and whether man or woman, each member
has to cross the finish line to make the others' performance
count. The suspense is therefore multiplied by 3. So
long as all three team members aren't home, there's
everything to play for...
WHO CAN
PARTICIPATE?
Many people ask themselves this question. It is certainly
preferable to be well prepared, but without wishing
to underestimate the difficulty of the race you don't
have to be Superwoman or Superman to complete the course.
With 62 hours to wrap up the 168km it means you can
finish with an average time of just under 3km /h ...
It's therefore a question of evaluating your optimum
pace well and pacing yourself in order to make it to
the finish line.
PACING
You don't pace yourself in the same way for a non-stop
race as you would for one in stages. You go slower,
there's no set time for having a rest or stopping to
eat, and the pauses you take are added on to your overall
time in the rankings. So the rough guide is: keep moving
but not too fast, sleep but not too much and eat without
hanging around the table... Simple, isn't it ?
All
CANCELLATION INSURANCE
AOI has a scale of reimbursement should you cancel your
enrolment during the last few months before the race
(see Art.25 of race regulations). In order to avoid
any misunderstandings or unpleasant surprises, competitors
are advised to take out cancellation insurance (information
available in travel agencies). Anyone can have a last
minute problem after all.
NO COMPANIONS
To avoid all suspicion of receiving outside assistance,
once more this year no competitors' companions will
be allowed on the Desert Cup race route. In the future
the organisation will hopefully be able to set up a
special trip meaning competitors can be watched at certain
vantage points. For the moment however it requires the
kind of structures a race in its second year can not
accommodate.Those that suffered and felt they lacked
water hadn't taken the basic precaution of stocking
up on water at CP 4 in order to finish in the best conditions.
But had they read the road book carefully ?
SOLIDARITY
For the fifth time, a solar pump has been installed
in a village in southern Morocco thanks to the combined
efforts of two French runners - Gilles Flamant and Jean
Pierre Vozel - plus TOTAL ENERGIE and AOI. Along with
the Regional Hydraulic Board, the region of M'FISS (between
ergs Chebi and Znaļgui) was chosen. The eco-friendly
technology will now benefit around a thousand people
on a daily basis. Check the web site for more information.
www.imp.cnrs.fr/utilisateurs/flamant/
PLACE OF
HONOUR
Previously reserved to the top three winners, there
will now be trophies for all the top 10 in the general
ranking. Females are also now ranked and rewarded in
three veteran categories. And finally the gifts for
the women's ranking have been upped.
BRAVO
During the award ceremony of the Grand Trail du Verdon
of which Patrick Bauer is the patron, lots were drawn
for a free place on the 17th MDS. The lucky winner is
Louise PORT from Great Britain. The race was won by
Patrick Lothode from Brittany in France.
MOTIVATION
Chris LAWRENCE, our representative in GB, is President
of the association Facing Africa - NOMA. United in this
action, AOI invites all the participants in the 17th
MDS to join the fight against this cruel disease. The
knowledge that every kilometre run will help a child
get one step further from misery - that's guaranteed
to motivate. Web site : www.facingafrica.org
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