Barefoot Runner Aims to Conquer 250km Marathon des Sables in Moroccan Desert

The Moroccan athlete wants to realize a dream by registering for this Marathon des Sables, organized by Frenchman Patrick Bauer, a reference in desert running. "Running barefoot is something natural for me, I feel more comfortable," explains El Hayani, who has already won two barefoot races: the Javelina Jundred 100 km in 2015 and the Coldwater Rumble 50 km in 2017.

To read: Runner Shatters World Record for Barefoot Half-Marathon on Snow in -20°C

Karim El Hayani also broke the world record last year, in the middle of the Canadian winter, for the half-marathon, barefoot, on ice and snow, reports Antena3. The Moroccan, who arrived in Spain under a truck at the age of 12, talks about his beginnings. "The officials of an athletics club contacted me and told me ’you have a lot of talent,’" he confides. And he adds: "I took off my shoes and I felt a freedom, a well-being with myself."

The Marathon des Sables will be "very hard", because it is "more difficult to run in the sand than in the snow," explains Karim El Hayani, who for years has expressed his solidarity with the SOS Children’s Villages association.