The runners say they undertook the challenge to see if they could accomplish something that many have called impossible.
Throughout the run, they have been stricken with tendinitis, severe diarrhea, cramping and knee injuries while enduring intense heat and wind – often without a paved road in sight. But they say nothing has tested their physical and mental limitations like the Sahara. Running through turbulent conditions is nothing new for these athletes, who have travelled the world competing in adventure races. Strong winds can abruptly send sand swooping in every direction, making it difficult to see and breathe. The relentless sun can push temperatures above 38 C during the day, but at night it sometimes dips below freezing. Damon plans to narrate the Running the Sahara documentary. In under four months, they have run across the world's largest desert through six countries – Senegal, Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Libya and finally Egypt.Ī film crew followed them, covering the desert journey for actor Matt Damon's production company, LivePlanet. "This is 100-per-cent – without a doubt – the hardest thing any of us have done," said American runner Charlie Engle, 44, during a lunch break about 180 km northwest of Cairo on Saturday, day 108.Įngle, Ray Zahab, 38, of Chelsea, Que., and Kevin Lin, 30, of Taiwan, finished their ultra-marathon Tuesday afternoon at the mouth of the Suez Canal in Egypt after running through the night. SAHARA DESERT, Egypt – Three ultra-endurance athletes, one a Canadian, have done something most would consider insane: They ran the equivalent of two marathons a day for 111 days to become the first modern runners to cross the Sahara Desert's gruelling 6,400 kilometres.
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