A Laois driving instructor has succeeded for the third and what he says was the toughest time, to run one of the hardest ultra marathons in the world, the Marathon de Sables in Morocco.
Tony McAlister from Mountmellick, took on the six day 270km desert marathon starting on Easter Sunday.
Out of 1,435, Tony was one of the 1,350 entrants who made it to the finish line, and one of 28 from Ireland, paying €6,500 to take part.
They all had to carry their own heavy packs, battle intense heat and cold, exhaustion and dehydration. The longest stage of 100km took Tony 21 hours.
“They certainly made it tough, it was a much tougher course.
He describes the hardest parts.
“They kept us in the sand dunes a lot more. That’s really soft sand so that really hurts. It takes a long time to trek through it, you’re two steps forward, three back, and up and down the dunes.
“My muscles weren’t sore but it was hard going. It was very hot, hitting mid 30’s most days. Lots of sand storms. The first bad one kicked in after the 100km stage, it never stopped all day, it brought the tent down, destroyed our gear, we all just relaxed in the medical tent for the day until it blew over.
“You can run in a sandstorm with goggles but you have to be careful you don’t lose your bearings. The last day we got hit with a really bad one, it broke the cameras on the finish line. When it got really bad you just stopped and hunkered down. We just slogged through it.
“The lack of sleep was a big one, it was cold at night so sleep deprivation caught me on the last day, after another marathon the day before. Exhaustion was a big thing.
“I had a serious problem with blisters on my left foot, they got infected. One on my heel, my sole and my toe. The medics dealt with them, draining and putting iodine in.
“They’re things you’d expect, you have to suck it up and get on with it, after paying big money to do it. There’s very few people got away with just blisters,” he said.
The best moments were the camaraderie.
“I ended in a tent with an Irish guy and six English guys, all young fellas. Absolutely fantastic, such a laugh with them. One of my better moments was on Friday, they were tracking me and waiting at the line for me and took my pack and had water there for me, that was a good feeling. That was the final 42k and for the last 10k I struggled with tiredness. “There was a guy out there aged 71 doing it. There was a young fella in the tent with us and had only done ever 11 runs. He’d never done a 10k.
“On the long day we were out two hours before the elites ran out. Even to see them pass us, it’s just, they’re a different breed. They’re like gazelles going across.
“The winner did it in 20 hours. He wins it every year, he’s Moroccan. I was watching him coming up behind me. It looks like it’s not even taking a fonk out of him.
Winner Mohamed El Morabity’s older brother Rachid took second, having won it 11 times.
Many others struggled.
“It opened your eyes. You think you’re suffering, there was a guy there doing it with a prosthetic leg. There was a crowd from France pulling a young fella in a wheelchair the whole way across that course.
“There was a guy doing it with his mother, she had had cancer. He was carrying her pack as well as his own. His pack was 22kg. When you’re feeling sorry for yourself and you hear something like that, you pick yourself up, you have to hand it to them.
“It was worth it, I’m glad I did it, it’s a great feeling when you get over the finish line. I wouldn’t do it again. But it lives up to its name as one of the toughest in the world.”
He was back training a day after he came home, with another challenge in his sights.
“I love the running, it does it for me.
“I want to thank all my family for their support, and my coach Bradley Brown for all the training in nutrition and fitness. Mainly my family for putting up with a lot, with me out running all the time.
He has a medal but framing it will wait.
“I’ll get the big medals together later this year. First I’d like to do a 100k and do a PB (personal best) on it. It’s in Denmark, it’s a 24 hour event. That’ll be it, there’ll be no more ultras after that,” Tony said.
For anyone daring enough, registration is now open for the 2027 Marathon de Sables.
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