This is the Namib Desert, one of the oldest deserts in the world, a vast region of Southern Africa which has been dry for more than 50 million years.  Daytime temperatures at this time of year reach 35 degrees but as night begins to fall, and the sunset turns the landscape into something otherworldly, the temperatures can drop to freezing.

You’re standing in baking heat and dust, surrounded on all sides by sand and scrubland.  The Spitskoppe Mountains loom over you, bare rock rising nearly 2 kilometers from the desert floor. 

You’re a dot on the landscape as you stand on a trail that winds it’s way through the rocky ground around you and off into sand dunes that shimmer in the heat haze on the horizon.

This is the Desert Ultra.

A 250km race split into 5 stages of sand dunes, dry river beds and baking scrubland in the shadow of rocky, martian mountains.

Runners should expect sweltering heat in the long days and freezing nights.  There may be periods running in darkness, following a marked route by head torch, under skies free of light pollution and filled with stars.

As a self-sufficient race you are responsible for carrying your entire kit, including food, safety equipment and a minimum of 2.5 litres of water which can be re-filled at checkpoints along the stages.  You’ll need some specialist gear to take on the world’s oldest desert.

Accommodation each night is provided by way of campsites built by our race team.

Base Camp: Spitzkoppe Mountains
Finish: Save the Rhino Outpost
Daytime Temperature: 30°C - 45°C
Evening Temperature: 5°C - 10°C