The Race

The Sahara Race will be held from 2-8 October 2011 in Egypt. It is a seven-day, six-stage, 250 kilometre (km) footrace across the Sahara Desert in Egypt. The 2011 race is its seventh edition.

The Sahara Race forms part of the 4 Deserts - a unique worldwide series of endurance events organised by RacingThePlanet. The 4 Deserts is a series of seven-day, 250 km self-supported footraces across the largest and most forbidding deserts on earth, including the Gobi in China, the Atacama in Chile, the Sahara in Egypt and Antarctica. Each of these deserts is unique and in every race competitors find themselves immersed in ancient cultures surrounded by stunning scenery and indigenous wildlife. The 4 Deserts take the competitor on a journey through the driest, hottest, coldest and windiest places on earth which tests his/her mentally and physically limits.

The 4 Deserts series was named by TIME magazine in 2010 as the number 1 footrace in the world, and as one of the world’s top 10 endurance events.

The Sahara Desert is the largest non-polar desert in the world. It is also the hottest. The Sahara Race 2011 takes place in the Valley of the Whales in Egypt, known by locals as Wadi El-Hitan and by scientists as the Zeuglodon Valley. The Valley of the Whales is located approximately 80 km from Fayoum City, which is in turn 100 km south-west of Cairo. The valley is part of the Wadi El-Rayan Protected Area (WRPA) in the Western Desert of Egypt. In 2005, it was designated by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) as a World Heritage site in recognition of the 40 million year-old whale skeletons discovered in the area. WRPA is an open-air museum that was created in 1989 and contains unique biological, geological and cultural resources. It lies between two lakes which were created in the 1970s from excess agricultural water channeled from the nearby Lake Karun (Qarun).

The race’s terrain will be largely sand - a mixture of hard-packed sand, soft sand and sand dunes. Competitors can expect a land of contrasts - mountains of rocks give way to gold, red and white sand dunes sometimes scaling more than 122 meters.

Egypt is one of the hottest and sunniest countries in the world. The heat of the Sahara Desert in Egypt is fierce and temperatures on the course could reach as high as 50°C. During the race, competitors, volunteers and staff are expected to consume more than 16 000 litres of water over the seven days of the event.

More than 150 competitors from over 30 countries are expected to compete in the Sahara Race 2011. The largest contingent of competitors is expected to come from the United Kingdom, followed by the United States and Australia. Roughly 75% of the competitors are male and 25% are female. Approximately 20% of competitors run the entire course, 60% combine running with walking, and 20% walk the entire course. The fastest completion time is expected to be around 24 hours and the slowest around 70 hours.

Each individual must carry his/her own gear, food and clothing in a backpack. The only assistance provided is water, tents and medical assistance. The average backpack weighs about 9 kg.

Nearly one-third of competitors raise money for charities around the globe through their participation in the Sahara Race.

Competitors are required to pass through up to 30 checkpoints throughout the seven-day race before crossing the finish line.

The average distance for the first four stages of the race is approximately 40 km per day, followed the longest stage of approximately 90 km. The length of the last stage is approximately 10 km.

The Sahara Race 2011 will finish at the Pyramids of Giza, south of Cairo, on 8 October 2011.