Barefoot Runner Disqualified from Marathon des Sables on Medical Grounds

Loury Lag’s participation in the 35th edition of the Marathon des Sables (a 250 km trail) taking place from October 1 to October 11 was cut short. "It is with a heavy heart that I announce that I have been disqualified by medical decision," he announced on his Instagram account. He had just covered 87.5 km out of 250, reports maville.com.

"I presented myself at CP2 (second checkpoint of stage 3) for a distant pain after recovering my water rations, telling myself that a small point would not hurt me to set off again. Once the straps were removed, it was a cold shower. The top layer of my skin has disappeared on the front of my foot. I ran 20 km on the second layer which literally burned," says the barefoot runner.

"In two seconds, the adrenaline drops, the pain starts to be felt to give way to sensations of knife blows of unimaginable violence. I am immediately declared unfit by medical decision," he continued. The state of his feet was in tatters, full of blood, the skin torn off. "[...] I take a big blow. After half an hour, it becomes unbearable, tears of pain end up flowing down my cheeks. On time with a good mindset, I was urgently evacuated to the camp to treat my burns before being able to stitch the open wounds," added Loury Lag.