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Desert Master Trek [Emirates News Agency (WAM) (United Arab Emirates)](Emirates News Agency (WAM) (United Arab Emirates) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) ABU DHABI, 25th September, 2014 (WAM) -- A gruelling 200km endurance race testing runners' physical and mental health to the limit will debut in Abu Dhabi's stunning, yet exacting, Liwa Desert next February, with the aim of it becoming an annual event. The inaugural Liwa Challenge Master Trek will be run between 7th – 15th February 2015 and is attracting an international field of athletes, including entrants from the U.A.E., Europe, U.S., Canada and New Zealand. Runners will be self-sufficient as they traverse the desert course, carrying with them all their supplies, including water, food and sleeping equipment. They will carry their own GPS system to help them navigate a series of checkpoints, checking beacons and waypoints. The race, with runners deciding on a 100km or 200km course, will finish at the top of the 100-metre Tel Mareeb, one of the highest dunes in the Rub Al Khali (Empty Quarter), inside the U.A.E.'s portion of the world's largest uninterrupted sand mass. The Liwa Challenge organisation, Orange, the French multi-national telecom company, has, since 2006, held similar events in the deserts of the Maghreb with 650 participants representing 18 different nationalities taking part. The organisers now hope to turn the race into an annual event in Abu Dhabi. (c) 2014 Emirates News Agency (WAM) Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info). |