In September 2023, an earthquake hit Morocco, southwest of Marrakech, causing nearly 3000 deaths and significant material damage, with nearly 60,000 buildings partially or totally collapsed. But also a large-scale national and international solidarity. In the heart of the affected area, the Ultra Trail Atlas Toubkal, which was scheduled to take place a month later, indeed mobilized to help the victims. It still contributes, eight months after the tragedy, to the reconstruction of the region.
More than 120 tents designed for high mountain, 600 mattresses, generators... Two days after the earthquake, all the equipment from the 2023 edition of the Ultra Trail* Atlas Toubkal (UTAT, now renamed Atlas Quest) was sent to eight villages usually crossed by this mountain race.
A race integrated into the natural and human ecosystem
The premier ultra-trail in Africa, this competition created in 2009, winds through the Toubkal massif, the highest peak in Morocco and North Africa, over distances ranging from 12 to 105 kilometers. The event is integrated into the natural and human ecosystem of the Oukaïmeden plateau, located 75 kilometers south of Marrakech, and sets up its base camp there for the race. "We are the main economic player and the largest employer in this area," explains Cyrille Sismondini, founder of this sporting event that brings together nearly 500 runners from around the world each year. "Our goal is to promote the region with a bib. All the logistics of the event are handled by muleteers and their mules. In addition to the race, we also offer excursions to Toubkal with local guides, visits to Amazigh villages, or the rental of electric bikes to explore the region..."
Tents, Shelters, and Equipment
After two editions canceled by COVID-19, the earthquake requires a new mobilization. “We didn't think, it was a human gesture. More tents were needed, so we made them. Even though it still remained just a drop in the bucket compared to the real needs…”, explains Cyrille Sismondini. A fundraising campaign is carried out in partnership with the Marathon des Sables, another major sporting event organized in Morocco. It raises 51,200 euros to finance an additional hundred tents.
The assistance continued throughout the following months, with an emergency shelter construction project launched in the spring of 2024 in one of the affected areas. "The village of Iabassen, already affected by rockfalls, saw this phenomenon worsen with the earthquake," says Cyrille Sismondini. "So, we brought in the materials for the construction of about forty shelters: bricks, cement, Plexiglas windows, and bamboo panels, always in response to requests from local associations."
So many actions that have a significant logistical and financial cost. Today, the organization of this sports event is slowly getting back on track economically, despite the lack of support from local and French authorities for the past fifteen years. The race, which relies on about 120 volunteers, will actually take place in early October under a new identity: the Atlas Quest. As every year, 40 bibs will be offered to the runners from the villages crossed. "A bib that is not just for the race, but also includes a medical check-up and the provision of equipment to the athlete," explains Cyrille Sismondini. Providing the opportunity to give wings to the children of the country. The UTAT, for example, supported the career of Rachid el-Morabity from 2014 to 2017. This Moroccan runner, who won his tenth Marathon des Sables this year, also achieved in 2016 the first and only African podium of the UTMB, always through the UTAT. "Today, we struggle to generalize this support, because we already struggle to survive ourselves, but it is one of our goals," explains Cyrille Sismondini. "We know that we have here a pool of world champions."
The extraordinary lands and landscapes that the runners traverse are also full of potential. Cyrille Sismondini is aware of this: "We have what it takes to become, in the coming years, the leading outdoor event in Africa." Already with a very concrete ambition: to host the Trail World Championships for the first time, someday, on the African continent.
* Ultra-trail is a long-distance trail running competition in a natural environment (often mountainous), usually over 80 km in length.
** During this period, UTAT mobilizes for the first time, through an initiative aiming to deliver food and hygiene products to the very isolated villages in this mountainous region.
*** The Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc (UTMB) is one of the most iconic races in the discipline.
