2023-12-31 04:04:00
Five days before, everything was going well. Despite the war between Hamas and Israel started a month and a half earlier, the Half Marathon des sables in Egypt (between 70 and 120 kilometers in three stages) was going to start. Like at the beginning of November in Jordan where, despite 30% cancellations among the 600 registered, the organization was a real success. Then the Egyptian authorities demanded that the bivouac be moved closer to a residential area and that they no longer run at night. “We no longer responded to the DNA of our events, breathes Cyril Gauthier, director of the event. We then made this crazy decision [l’annulation de la course]. » Pour “do not take the slightest risk” to competitors.
The reimbursement being full, the bill oscillates between 500,000 and 800,000 euros. The cost is integrated into the business model… as long as it does not become the norm. However, the context is as unstable as the sand on the crest of a dune and risks having a lasting impact on the extreme sports adventure sector. Cyril Gauthier puts things into perspective but admits: “In every country, we know that we cannot sleep soundly. That there may be areas where we must neutralize the event in order to get off to a better start. And that’s why we need to diversify. We are forced to adapt to the geopolitical situation, climate change and everything we can imagine. And here, we have just gone through a hell of a series. »
Gastro and curfew
Autumn 2022. In the midst of the ordeal in Fuerteventura, a storm unprecedented in two decades sweeps the Canary Islands. Closed schools, waterlogged roads… The question of maintenance arises. We have to change all the routes, manage 800 people. “We come out exhausted,” rewinds Cyril Gauthier. Two months later in Peru, he had to face a coup attempt “like in a film, at the arrival of the last competitor of the last stage”. Curfew established. Four hundred people locked in the hotel and an emergency repatriation to be organized. “Lucky thing: we had the French consul among the runners. »
Bad buzz: Adidas congratulates its customers for “surviving” the Boston Marathon
The first edition in Cappadocia (Turkey) was postponed following the February earthquake, which left more than 56,000 dead. “At least we were able to donate the materials we had sent to help people,” underlines the organizer. New earthquake in September, in Morocco this time (nearly 3,000 dead), ten days before the on-site edition. The test is maintained. But a gastro epidemic, undoubtedly linked to the quality of the water, punctuates the stay. Then a sandstorm. “Normally, a storm is nice because it shows that it’s not something from a Club Med catalog, explains Cyril Gauthier. But when you add up the little problems…” The satisfaction rate is dropping.
Next meeting in April with the Marathon des sables, the real one, the one which has existed for thirty-eight years in a certain stability and has been renamed Legendary (240 kilometers in Morocco). The seven Halfs were brought together under the name Marathon des sables. The promise of a less eventful year 2024?
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