38TH MARATHON DES SABLES LEGENDARY - A HEART TO UNITE THEM ALL

The route of the fifth stage of the 38th MARATHON DES SABLES LEGENDARY was in the shape of a heart: a fitting symbol for this legendary desert adventure.

The LEGENDARY MARATHON DES SABLES is a race, an adventure, an event that marks your life. There is a before and an after. And what better way to represent this week out of time, this interlude of effort, sharing and introspection, than a 30.4 km heart-stroke in the desert? That's what today's route was all about, skirting around Jebel TAFEGUENAT on a heart-shaped track.

But don't be fooled by this symbolic figure: the day's route was not a gentle one. Matthieu SCHOLTEN (D214-NLD) suffered at the end of the course: "Beautiful scenery, good weather, but the headwind at the end was tough. A bit of sand, a bit of a climb, heat, wind, and in the distance some impressive mountains to contemplate: a beautiful summary of the desert.

EMOTIONS MULTIPLIED

The adventure of the LEGENDARY MARATHON DES SABLES is unique, difficult, even extreme, but so generous in the emotions it provokes that it's not uncommon to see a tear shining in the corner of an eye. Cécile LOUIS-MARIE TÖLG (D552-FRA) is no stranger to difficult events, but here she experienced something really powerful: "I don't usually cry in races, but 1 km before the finish line I wanted to cry. I said to myself 'no, save it for tomorrow', and tomorrow I'm going to drop everything at the finish line. And I'm going to keep that medal for 6 months, day and night.

To share these emotions, "Emotional boxes" were tested this year: individual booths in which each participant can leave a one-minute video message each day, which will be broadcast to the e-mail addresses provided in advance. Carole DE SOMER (D275-FRA) appreciated this way of keeping a record of her time in the desert: "The second day I was full of doubts, I had blisters, I wondered if I was going to make it. I was on the verge of tears. But today went well. I'm going to go and deliver this good message to them at the Emotional Boxes.

Beware: tomorrow there's still a sandy half-marathon. The 782 participants still in the race (93% of starters) will meet at the final finish line.