The annual 4 Deserts Series is now widely recognized as the world’s most prestigious outdoor footrace series, ranked by Time magazine as one of the Top Ten Endurance Events for two years running. The series features the Atacama Crossing in Chile, the Gobi March in China, the Sahara Race in Egypt and The Last Desert in Antarctica.

Next up: the Sahara Race, which the organizers describe simply as “7 days, 250 km self-supported”. The footrace kicked off on Sunday, October 28, with extreme athletes from 36 countries speeding through Africa’s largest desert. Racers are hauling their own food, clothing and supplies, with just tents and water supplied en route.

Among the favorites expected to lead are Vicente Juan Garcia Beneito of Spain, a 36-year-old firefighter who has already won the Atacama Crossing in Chile and the Gobi March in China. In the women’s division, the favorite is Germany’s Anne-Marie Flammersfeld, who plans to nail her third 4 Deserts medal in a row.

This race is the final arid one in the series before athletes set off in Antarctica’s striking surroundings come November.

Cover Photo Credit: brandonprinceabroad – flickr.com