I never know when I’m going to learn something cool.
A new exhibit is coming to the Morocco Pavilion at EPCOT. The Morocco Pavilion is my favorite place in the World Showcase, and usually, the displays show off the amazing art of the country. This new exhibit, “Race Against the Sun,” is about racing, one of my favorite topics.
Two remarkable races happen in Morocco and are featured in this exhibit. The Rally of the Gazelles is an off-road, all-woman desert rally. That sounds amazing, but the one that piqued my interest was the Marathon des Sables (Marathon of the Sands.)
This race may have “marathon” in the title, but it is actually an ultra-marathon. It covers six days and 156 miles through the Sahara Desert in southern Morocco. Since its start in 1986, it has been called the toughest foot race on Earth.
I love learning about crazy long races in insane environments. I hadn’t heard of this one before, so I searched around to see if there was a documentary about it. It turns out there were several. I watched one about the 2000 race that was unreal.
I love watching movies about unbelievably hard races, Barkley, Mount Marathon, Badwater, and others. It’s fun to watch humans push themselves to the limit. But the Marathon des Sables might just be the hardest.
I agree with Anakin Skywalker when he said, “I don’t like sand. It’s coarse, and rough, and irritating, and it gets everywhere.” I would never do a race in the Sahara Desert. The three half marathons on three consecutive weekends that I’m doing next June is tough enough for me.
I do encourage you to watch the documentary on the Marathon of the Sands. It is quite moving how much people can do and how much support they give each other.
I hope the display is still at the Morocco Pavilion when I go to Walt Disney World* in January of 2021. That is how I want to experience that race, in Florida.
*I would love to have three or four people come with me to Walt Disney World. I’m going to run the Dopey, but we’re also going to ride a ton of attractions, and hopefully visit all four parks in one day (you get a certificate if you do.) It’s a lot of fun and January is a great time to go.