Sondre Amdahl på imponerende 9. plass i Marathon des Sables

Sondre Amdahl i ørkenen... Foto: #MDS‪2016

At det "bare" er 5 løp på de 6 dagene skyldes at svært mange av deltagerne trenger over et døgn på å fullflre etappen. Dermed får eliteløperne en hviledag etter monsteretappen på 84,3 km - der vinneren brukte 8:11 og Sondre løp på 9:11.

Løpets vinner var marokkaneren Rachid El Morabity som vant for 4. gang og passerte målstreken på 5. etappe med et splitthopp - noen sekunder bak landsmennene somkom på de neste plassene sammenlagt. En halvtime senere kom Sondre Amdahl i mål til en 10. plass på etappen og en fantastisk flott 9. plass sammenlagt.

Rachid El Morabity går i mål på 5. etappe som vinner av Maraton des Sables for 4. gang Foto: #MDS‪2016

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The 31st Marathon des Sables (MdS) began the morning of Sunday, April 10 in the Moroccan Sahara with more than 1,100 participants toeing the line. For those unfamiliar, the MdS is a seven-day, six-stage race (only the first five stages count toward the rankings this year) in which competitors carry all their own supplies except for a daily water ration and a shade tent to sleep under… which they share with seven other competitors.

At the conclusion of Stage 5, Morocco’s Rachid El Morabity became the winner for the fourth time and Russia’s Natalia Sedykh won her first MdS.

Without a doubt and with his fourth MdS win, Rachid El Morabity cements himself into history alongside the two Moroccan legends of the race, brothers Lahcen and Mohamad Ahansal, who historically have dominated the winner’s spot of this race. It is perhaps fitting, as Rachid comes from the same town as Lahcen and Mohamad, a small town at the edge of the Sahara called Zagora, and trained under Mohamad for quite some time. They grow them wicked fast out there in the desert, don’t they? An amazing part of Rachid’s story that we can’t forget is his 2012 race, where he broke his femur during Stage 4 while leading the race, was medivac-ed out of the race’s remote location, and underwent major surgery. To return from that sort of major injury and enter back into competitive dominance as he has makes Rachid’s a double Cinderella story.

Another competitive note on the women’s race, Natalia Sedykh and Nathalie Mauclair put on quite a show over the course of the race and showed what’s possible for women at the MdS. That said, they were just two members of a highly competitive women’s field, more competitive than any other MdS edition, I’d have to venture a guess. In true MdS style, the unique and difficult racing and living conditions roughed up some of the race favorites, taking them out of contention by the end of the week. But also in true MdS style, a few new faces emerged from the fray, women who managed to sort through those challenges and come out of them a bit faster than their competition. A new day dawns on women’s MdS competition with the 2016 edition.

Men’s Overall Standings through Stage 5 (the Race’s Finish)

1. Rachid El Morabity (Morocco) — 21:01:21
2. Abdelkader El Mouaziz (Morocco) — 21:05:38
3. Aziz El Akad (Morocco) — 22:07:30
4. Chema Martinez (Spain) — 22:27:50
5. Erik Clavery (France) — 23:00:18
6. Samir Akhdar (Morocco) — 23:46:31
7. Jean-Sebastien Braun (France) — 23:57:03
8. Carlos Sa (Portugal) — 23:59:57
9. Sondre Amdahl (Norway) — 24:08:58
10. Marco Pajusco (Italy) — 24:41:35

Women’s Overall Standings through Stage 5 (the Race’s Finish)

1. Natalia Sedykh (Russia) — 24:45:26 (11th overall)
2. Nathalie Mauclair (France) — 25:30:55 (13th overall)
3. Fernanda Maciel (Spain) — 27:58:43
4. Elisabet Barnes (Sweden) — 30:02:26
5. Aziza Raji (Morocco) — 30:41:31

ALLE RESULTATER

Sand, sand, sand... og en lang rekke med løpere. Foto: #MDS‪2016


Denne medaljen henger høyt... 973 av ca 1100 startende kan pynte seg med denne. Foto: #TDS2016

Sondre oppdaterte på Facebook 18.april:

Foto: Ian Corless iancorless.com

Last week in the Sahara desert was amazing! Sandy, fast, hot, tough but also very beautiful. So happy to finish 9th overall and in the top 10 in all five (six including the charity) stages in such a stacked field. Thank you very much for e-mails and greetings before, during and after the race! Race report will follow on my blog shortly. http://sondreamdahl.com/