Interview: Thomas HENAULT, logistics manager of the MDS

"It's a complex organization"

The 37th MARATHON DES SABLES will bring together more than 1200 participants in the desert, how many people are needed to supervise them?

There will be more than 500 people this year to oversee the race. The staff is divided into several groups:

• 90 fitters of tents for the runners

• 60 tent builders for the staff

• 120 volunteers (at the bivouac, the CPs, the race, etc.)

• 80 drivers

• 64 soldiers

• 65 media staff members (production of photos, videos, accredited media, etc.)

• 61 people in the medical team

How many vehicles does the MDS organization require?

You need a lot of vehicles for a lot of different needs: the safety of the riders, the transport and storage of equipment, the transport of the media. There are therefore 30 trucks, 4 rally type trucks, 2 helicopters and more than 130 4*4 type vehicles.

What kind of hardware is needed on the MDS?

Everything that will make it possible to structure the event, so the tents, the safety equipment, the beacons, the communication tools, the medical equipment, the spare equipment and especially the water which is transported in large quantities.

How much water?

In all there are 17000 packs of 1.5 liters which makes 153000 liters.

The number of tents must also be important?

Yes indeed, and it is a complex organization to put everything in place. There is a predefined bivouac for the staff which has about 120 tents. Then for the competitors there are 150 tents, so 8 per tent, and 150 tents for the advanced bivouac. The advanced bivouac is therefore the competitors' tents which are set up in advance of the next stage, which allows them to settle directly when they finish their stage. There is also a small bivouac for the volunteers taking care of the runners, and another bivouac for the medical team.

Is there a particularly complex moment to manage for logistics?

The award ceremony requires a big organization. The ceremony takes place in the desert at the end of the day, it is necessary to install a stage, a sound system because there are often concerts, and of course refreshments for everyone. But it's a great time!

Interview by Werner SAURIN

Propos recueillis par Werner SAURIN