After MDS 120 Morocco and MDS Handi, the MDS organisation launches a different experience, MDS TREK, focused on the Sahara. The format is presented as more comfortable and accessible than the MDS events described as “self-sufficient”, with meals planned every day. The iconic bivouac remains on the programme, but sleeping is done in individual two-bed tents, equipped with mattresses.
Access to the Sahara starts from Ouarzazate, where participants gather a few days before setting off to the south. The arrival is marked by “non-seasonal” thunderstorms that make conditions difficult for organisers and bivouac teams. The text specifies that, in the morning, the Sahara changes again and the camp finds a blue sky and sunshine.
For Day 1, the event is deliberately relaxed, with technical checks, a calm lunch and an afternoon presentation. Then, before nightfall, a dinner brings everyone together, followed by an early bedtime. The start is announced afterwards “at dawn”: at 7:00am, participants head out into the desert, under calm conditions, with a sunrise described as spectacular.
The day-to-day Stage 1 running segment is based on choice: two distances are offered, 15.5km or 22km, with no cut-off times and no pressure. The text highlights the absence of any expectation to “race”, while encouraging walking and trekking, as well as running if participants wish to. With “seven nights” in the Sahara, MDS TREK is presented as an immersive experience, spread over five days of movement and four stages, including Stage 3 and the “Star Night”.
Finally, participation and results are presented as a reflection of the inclusive nature of the format. For Stage 1, 348 participants choose the 22km distance, while 40 select the 15.5km option. The text stresses that, for MDS TREK, the logic is not only to be fast: it is about experience and personal victory, through walking, trust and sharing with other participants.
