Al Sayer supports Kuwaiti youth in Marathon des Sables

Al Sayer Group as a socially responsible corporate, and as part of its ongoing quest to continuously support the youth of Kuwait, is sponsoring the Kuwaiti Extreme Sport team, which will participate in this year’s Marathon des Sables.

Marathon des Sables or Marathon of the Sands, organized annually by the Atlantide Organization Internationale, is labeled the toughest footrace on earth. The unique ultra-marathon staged in the punishing Moroccan Sahara desert covers a distance of 254km, which is six times the length of a regular marathon. The 800 contestants who will converge from all over the world on the southern Moroccan desert will have to face brutal heat, stifling humidity and the infamous sirocco sandstorms, which can whip up winds of 100kph.

The first Moroccan marathon was run in 1986, this year the race will take place from March 27 to April 6. Run in six days, and partially at night, athletes will face temperatures that swing from 30 degrees centigrade in the daytime to 10 degrees at night. It is a pre-condition that the marathon athletes are self reliant — they have to carry their own food, medical supplies, and camping equipment of up to 15kg on their backs for the duration of the race. The race itself is divided into several stages, the most arduous being to traverse a grueling distance of 84km during a 34-hour period.

The four Kuwaiti youth selected from ‘Kuwaiti Extreme Sports’ to participate in this year’s Moroccan Sahara Marathon, are Zaid Rifae who became the first Arab to climb Everest and Kilimanjaro summits, Ahmed Al-Majed  who won the title of the Iron Man during the Beirut Marathon, Kuwaiti adventurer Riad Malullah and Khaled Musaed Al-Sayer who successfully passed the Beirut Marathon.

Proceeding from a desire to face challenges, while participating in the spirit of sports adventures, the Kuwaiti Extreme Sport team’s participation in the Moroccan marathon, also involves a noble humanitarian goal. The revenue generated from the trip will be donated in full to the Kuwaiti Society for managing learning differences/difficulties, managed by Dr. El-Hadji Badria.

The Kuwaiti Society for managing learning differences/difficulties is a social welfare association based in Kuwait, and works to help students with learning differences/difficulties. The aim of this association is to renew and develop the potential of these students and support its students psychologically and socially. The society formulates plans to help students solve their problems and raise the spirit of optimism in all aspects of the challenging life they live. The society works through the organization of educational programs for the parents of those children, including early detection of problem and effective intervention when necessary, provide guidance for diagnostic centers and try to change the patterns of life and adapt to those difficulties.

Al-Sayer Group offered heartfelt wishes for the Kuwaiti Extreme Sports for a successful participation and prayers for the safe return of all members of the team and encourages them in future participation in noble causes and activities targeted to support social issues in Kuwait.