Andrea HUSER (CHE)

Like all those involved in the world of trail running, the MARATHON DES SABLES team was shocked and extremely saddened to learn yesterday of the death of Andrea HUSER, the ultra-trail champion. Andrea had been missing since Saturday, and her body was found on Monday, November 30, at the foot of a rocky ridge near the ski resort of Saas-Fee in the Swiss Alps. It was while crossing a frozen torrent that Andrea slipped off the trail, then fell nearly 150 meters.

Andrea, Swiss-German who was going to be 47 years old this December, took part in the MARATHON DES SABLES in 2018, after a completely crazy 2017: victory over no less than 7 ultras, including the Grand Raid of Reunion, the Madeira Island Ultra-Trail and the Eiger Ultra-Trail. In the Moroccan sands, she left an impression of humility and simplicity to all those who worked with her, competitors as supervisors. Patrick BAUER, creator of MDS and Clerk of the Course, remembers it fondly: “Apart from being a super champion, she was a great girl, caring, generous, humble and simple. She had plans to come back to MDS this year with a team of friends… We are losing someone dear, and I would like to extend my sincere condolences to those close to her, and to the trail community who loved her. I also think of the Swiss Alps, the place of that terrible fall, it was her world, it was in the middle of these mountains that she loved to run every day, and she will stay forever in her paradise. "

A warned mountain woman, Andrea had suffered during the MARATHON DES SABLES: the desert proved to be a complex place for her to understand. If she was going to come back, it was not necessarily for the win: she had announced this summer that a nagging injury now prevented her from competing at the highest level.

A nurse in civilian life, Andrea HUSER started her sporting career in mountain biking, where she shone at the international level, notably with a title of European Champion in 2002. Jack-of-all-trades, she was also successful in multisport raid , in triathlon, and in her thirties, she dedicated herself to mountain running: “I really feel free when I run in nature and especially in the mountains. "

The whole MARATHON DES SABLES team will think hard of you, Andrea, on the mountainous terrain of the 35th MDS.