Travel Haiku - 4th Marathon Des Sables (March 29-April 4) Poem by john tiong chunghoo

marathon des sables
the desert filled with
the memory of moses

marathon des sables
still here the sand of moses
and his flocks

marathon des sables
in each grain of sand
the memory of moses

marathon des sables
in each grain of sand
sweat for the promised land

Marathon des Sables
we egg ourselves on
in the spirit of moses

Marathon des Sables
the spirit of Moses
keeps us going

Marathon des Sables
the spirit of Moses sweeps through
the sahara

no mannas from heaven
we walk along like
moses' flocks

Having just completed one of the hardest and most intense footraces in the world, participants in the 24th Marathon des Sables (March 29-April 4) head home today, exhausted but proud. The 150-mile ultramarathon lasts for seven long days through the blazing Sahara desert around Ouarzazate, Morocco. Some 800 competitors take on the grueling challenge, which requires all runners to carry their own food, water, and equipment on their backs as they journey across the rocky desert landscape. Only a carefully rationed 2.4 gallons of water and local tents are provided by the organizers.