Matt Turner
The Marathon des Sables, a six-day race through the Sahara desert, has a hard-won reputation as "The Toughest Footrace on Earth."
The 33rd edition of the race will run April 8 to April 13, covering 250km.
The race is not for the faint-hearted.
The route takes in towering sand dunes, airless oueds (dried-up riverbeds), and scrambled jebel (rocky hill) ascents.
The distance comes in at almost a marathon a day, with the longest stage a punishing double marathon.
Competitors run or walk through 104-degree plus temperatures, carrying their food for the week. Water is rationed. Salt tablets are essential.
Competitors sleep in bivouac tents, which do little to retain warmth when the temperature drops overnight and offer limited resistance to sandstorms.
It is no surprise then that a lot of competitors don't make it to the finish. The desert is relentless, and there is a large slice of luck involved in surviving what it has to throw at you.
I finished the 31st edition of the race in 2016. This is what "The Toughest Footrace on Earth" is like:
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