Sarah JOST (FRA)

Sarah Jost (FRA)’s story is a source of inspiration and motivation for all those who suffer a hard blow in life. At the age of 31, Sarah learns a very bad news: she suffers from rheumatoid arthritis, an autoimmune disease that causes painful inflammatory attacks in the joints, and which hinders their movement, which may even deform them in the long run. . "There, everything falls apart," recalls Sarah, who at the time was planning to run the MARATHON DES SABLES for her 35th birthday. "The rheumatologist told me to forget about sport and especially running."

MARATHON DES SABLES, Sarah has known for a long time: "I heard about it during a TV report (I had to be at school) and it shocked me: all these athletes who went to the end of themselves , passing beyond suffering, heat, discomfort... they were out of the ordinary. Functioning a lot to the challenge, I had programmed for my 35 years."

After the announcement of her illness and a little time to recover, Sarah starts to trot, then run. "And here I decided to train again to finish my first marathon as a patient in 2013." And the challenges follow one another, since Sarah is closing in 2015 and 2018 two 100km in Millau and Metz. In parallel, she finished a few long-distance triathlons and went so far as to afford the Ironman of Nice this year, under the heat wave.

So when this summer his colleague Marie-Reine shows him her registration email for the MDS, Sarah is confused. "I asked her to enjoy the race for me. Intrigued, her colleague questions her further, and Sarah tells her that it is THE race she dreams to do. A few discussions later, Sarah is inducted into the team "Les sablés de Lorraine", three men and five women all novices who run for the Association in Favor of the Elderly and Disabled. Sarah and her teammates are raising funds to allow the association to provide residents with leisure time.

We will of course be following Sarah with attention to the 35th MARATHON DES SABLES, meanwhile she delivers a message from her story: "I hope to give some hope and prove to all those who suffer from rheumatoid arthritis that the disease must not prevent us from realizing our dreams."