Afritrex - The Marathons
Marrakech, Morocco
Distance: 26.3 mls / 42.6 kms
Date & Time: Sunday 27th Jan 2008, 08:45
Altitude: 452 m
No. of entrants: 5000
Average temp: 18 degrees
Holders:
In the early haze of a mild January morning next year, his Majesty the King Mohammed VI will welcome his guests, some five thousand runners from around the world, to set off on the nineteenth running of one of the fastest and most prestigious marathons in the world, The International Marathon of Marrakech. The race will be sponsored by Abdelkader El Moaziz, the prodigious Moroccan marathon runner, winner of the London and Chicago marathons and record–holder of the marathon of Marrakesh in 2H08, 15s, run in 1994.
The magical city offers an exceptional setting for this gruelling athletic event, with a very mild daytime temperature (20 to 25°C) and a beautiful circuit. Considered one of the fastest in the world, and hence an obvious International meeting for marathon running’s biggest stars, the marathon route follows the palm-lined boulevards of Marrakech, taking in the orange and olive trees of the Menara Gardens and continuing past the ramparts of the old and legendary Medina.
A distance of 42,195 kms, approved by an international official expert (I.A.A.F-A.I.M.S), the course is flat and rapid, in spite of some ascending terraces in the palm groves, a good time is always achievable and the world record of 02h05'42'' is always in danger, though certainly not by us, I might add. Supply points are only installed every 5 kms (water, and orange segments that have never seen the inside of a lucozade bottle) until arrival and sponges every 5 kms from the 7 th km marker onwards. Timing points appear regularly during the course and at the finish line while course signposting is painted on the ground or on make-shift sign panels.
With water stops only every five kilometres, this is a man we may well need to befriend before the race. He is a traditional Moroccan water seller, and could no doubt keep up with us despite his load.
On a more serious note, this marathon is the perfect start to our trip, allowing us to gage our own level of fitness and therefore see the task that lies ahead of us to get our bodies ready for the Comrades race some one hundred and seventy five days later. It seems like a long time but our bodies need to be in a very good condition to complete the world’s hardest ultramarathon. The flat course and the mild conditions of a North African mid-winter are the best training ground on which to commence this training. 
We are not looking to set a lightning fast time by our standards as a serious injury at this stage would near enough put a stop to our entire project. We will carry handheld video cameras with us while running all marathons in an attempt to better show our sponsors exactly what we are putting ourselves through to earn their monetary support and to solicit a little sympathy when we do occasionally touch base with family back home. We will be looking to consistently run the 26 mile races sub four hour with a push towards the three and a half at the high altitude Nairobi Marathon when we are nearing the end of our journey.
You would be forgiven for thinking that training on the fringes of the Sahara may look something like this, but you could not be further from the truth. When we join the other runners at the rope, we will have just left the Atlas mountains, having climbed through the clouds in snow neck deep and temperatures well South of zero. Exhausted but exhilarated is the feeling we are hoping for. Broken on the first leg of our challenge, in its very first country is a fear that might keep the Dali Lama awake. I do not think that this is quite what a running coach has in mind when suggesting a little pre race altitude training. We will see.
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