Name: Eye of the Sahara Ultra Marathon 2026 - 3rd Edition
Start: 2026-11-15
End: 2026-11-22
Location: Mauritania

John Ward

Email address verified

30 reviews

Nov 15 - 22, 2026

Group size: 3 - 16

Eye of the Sahara Ultra Marathon 2026 - 3rd Edition

Mauritania

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John Ward

Email address verified

30 reviews

$NaN

Nov 15 - 22, 2026

Group size: 3 - 16

IRON ORE TRAIN ADD-ON

$669

Single Supplement

$799

6 left

Additional hotel the night before-Nov 14

$125

Additional night after-Nov 22nd

$150

Additional night after-Nov 24

$150

Day 1
Day 1
Arrival in Mauritania
Arrive in Nouakchott anytime.

Our event is officially recognised by the Mauritanian Government. The visa is on available online for everyone competing in the event. After that, just get yourself to Mauritania's capital, Nouakchott.

My team will meet you at the airport, and drive you to our starting hotel. We have a briefing at 6pm today, and then a group dinner with all the other maniacs taking part.

NOTE:
You can fly here via Paris (Air France), Casablanca (Royal Air Maroc), Istanbul (Turkish Air), plus a lot of others. I normally fly on Turkish Airlines because it's a direct flight from Istanbul. For Europeans, it may be easier via Casablanca, Morocco.
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Day 2
Day 2
Road Trip to the Eye of the Sahara
Early brekkie in the hotel, then we take our transports deep into the Sahara. Sh*t is getting real now folks.

It's a 9 hour drive, punctuated with tea stops, lunch breaks, and photo opportunities. The adventure is just getting started.

The transport is comfortable, even if the road is not, with 3 people per air-conned SUVs.
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DAY 3
DAY 3
Preparation Day
Prep day. We wake up and eat, eat, eat, and eat some more.

Gear check. Medical check. Stretching. Downtime. If you're feeling antsy, we have an optional trip to the ancient town of Ouadane in the afternoon.
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DAY 4
DAY 4
RACE DAY 1
Today is the day. We start at sunrise. A group breakfast, prepared by our local chef, then we prepare our snacks, our water, and we hit the start point. The gun goes off, and we're good to go.
50km to cover today. 5km check-points with water. One foot in front of the other.
When you get through it, camp will be waiting for you. Hot food, cold water, and a bed. You can do it. Eyes on the prize.
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DAY 5
DAY 5
RACE DAY 2
Waking up this morning will be hard. But nothing food in life comes easy. Everything the same. Brekkie once more, sunrise once more, starting gun once more. The legs, however, they won't be the same. Suck it up. 50 more kilometres today.

Today will be the hardest today. Just get through it. Tears, blood, whatever it takes. Tomorrow night, you made it.
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DAY 6
DAY 6
RACE DAY 3
Listen. I'm going to give it to you straight. Legends aren't made through comfort and 8 hours of sleep. So yes, waking up this morning will be tough. Painful. You'll feel like there's no way you can eat another 50km. But you can.

Get to the starting gun. And focus on metre by metre. The finishing point awaits. The sands dunes of the ancient city of Chinguetti awaits. As does a hot shower and chilled bedroom. Legendary status incoming...
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DAY 7
DAY 7
RECOVERY
Did someone say there's a group of absolute heroes sleeping in Chinguetti? Congrats folks. You can never be an average person again. You have 150km through the soft sands of Sahara under your belt. No-one can ever take that away from you. Today you rest.

Chinguetti is a sleepy outpost in the desert. It's also home to ancient Islamic Libraries, so if you want to experience a bit of culture, we will take you there to experience an ancient way of life.

If you just want to sob in your room all day, knock yourself out. Either way, you're a beast!
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DAY 8
DAY 8
HOME..... OR.... THE IRON ORE TRAIN!!
We have 2 programmes available as part of your Eye of the Sahara Ultra Marathon expedition.

OPTION 1; No Iron Ore Train experience.
If you're in a rush, or the thought of a hitching a ride on the back of a train AFTER an ultra marathon doesn't appeal (who can blame you?!), then Day 7 is the dive back to Nouakchott. You've completed your punishment, and you can fly home tonight. See you on the next one.

OPTION 2: EOTS + The Iron Ore Train. SELECT THIS AS AN ADD-ON IF YOU WISH TO EXTEND!
If you're an actual psychopath, welcome! The trip is extended a couple of extra days to allow us to ride the Iron Ore train. And on Day 7, we live Chinguetti and drive to the train tracks, via Atar (to buy the gear we need for the train). Tonight, we live our Dune fantasies by riding on the longest train on the world. All being well, the train will arrive around 5pm. We climb on, make our beds, and stay on it for the next 15 hours or so.
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(OPTIONAL) DAY 9
(OPTIONAL) DAY 9
Arrival in Nouadhibou
One of the WILDEST of nights of your life is over. Sunrise on the train is something you can't prepare for. This is living life.

That being said, you'll welcome the early arrival into the port town of Nouadhibou. Here we'll have an early check-in to our hotel for a WELL EARNED shower. You'll be filthy from the iron ore. I mean filthy!

I may know a guy who knows a guy in Nouadhibou. So despite Alcohol being illegal here, stick with me kid. It's time to celebrate!

NOTE: This is only part of the itinerary if you have selected, and paid for, the additional add-on
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(OPTIONAL) DAY 10
(OPTIONAL) DAY 10
That's all folks. Home time.
That's the end of the line. We have a bus transfer back to the Capital City, it takes about 6 hours or so. Depending on your flight time, you can stay an extra night or leave the same day, we can help organise that stuff for you.

NOTE: This is only part of the itinerary if you have selected, and paid for, the additional add-on
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Day 1

Arrival in Mauritania

Anthony P.

Joel W.

The Eye of the Sahara Ultra was so well organized! The friendships formed with the other runners, the shared suffering and ultimate shared successes were only a part of what made this race so incredible. The team did an excellent job of caring for us all, our camps were some of the most comfortable I’ve experienced, the food was unbelievably good, especially being made out in the middle of the open Sahara Desert, and the team members at each aide station were all smiles and cheers! Having the course marked every 1km alleviated any stress of potentially getting “lost” in the desert.. plus I knew the staff was aware of my location at all times. This ultra should definitely be on your list, even if before it you were considered an ultra novice, like me. Also: the stars at night were stunning enough to book this trip just to witness that raw beauty alone. You won’t regret it.

By Courtney J for Eye of the Sahara Ultra Marathon 2025 - 2nd Edition on Dec 17, 2025

An utterly unique perspective on Madagascar. A rare chance to visit small, rural villages; take hikes to waterfalls in secluded areas; see lemurs in the wild and boabab trees beyond the Avenue; and top it off by helping to renovate a school!

By Dave M for Magic in Madagascar on Nov 01, 2025

What an amazing trip! After seeing the Eagle Huntress documentary 9 years ago , I was so excited to see this trip come up. The logistics of getting there are so difficult to arrange, but I knew from previous trips with Johnny and Josh it would be well organised.. which of course it was. I loved every second. The people who come on these journeys are fun and interesting. It was a great group. The Golden Eagle festival was breathtaking. A once in a lifetime opportunity. Amazing!!!

By Janice B for Mongolia Golden Eagle Fesitval Charity Trip on Oct 19, 2025

I’m not usually a fan of group travel but necessary for a country like Turkmenistan! The tour was really well organized and I liked the style of travel. Good mix of hotels and roughing it. Our local tour guide was excellent and always on hand. Group was a fun bunch of like minded travelers up for adventure. Would recommend Johnnys tours!

By Geraldine C for Turkmenistan (and the Gates of Hell) on Aug 30, 2025

Fantastic experience in a truly unique location. Would travel again without any reservations or hesitation. Came for the stories which I received in spades and met fantastic people along the way. Loved every bit of the experience.