Man still running ultramarathons in the Sahara Desert at 81

By James Gamble via SWNS

A grandfather still running ultramarathons in the Sahara Desert at 81 says the blisters were worth it "to beat Ben Fogle."

Mario Rebellato is preparing to run his seventh ultramarathon in the Sahara Desert next year and has no plans to slow down.

The Italian-born south Londoner - dubbed Super Mario - ran his first Marathon des Sables - a grueling six-day, 250km (160 mile) race in Morocco equivalent to five regular marathons - in 1998, and plans to continue running while his body still can.

The octogenarian, who grew up in the Italian Alps, runs the ultramarathons to raise money for charities close to his heart, including the hospital trust he has volunteered with for 40 years.

Mario admits the race, considered by many to be the toughest in the world, deserves the status if only for the incessant blisters which constantly plague runners in the intense desert heat from the first day.

Runners have to drink nine liters of water each day and take sodium supplements due to the buckets of sweat the body exudes in the searing heat.

But he admits it's worth it for the sense of achievement and unforgettable memories of the event, including the year he beat British TV presenter Ben Fogle.

The selfless father-of-two and grandad to three, who still works full-time as an assistant at plumbing firm Pimlico, was recently honored for volunteering at Guy's and St Thomas' Hospital trust in his adopted home of London for four decades.

Super Mario, who lives in Kennington, south London, is now looking ahead to his seventh ultramarathon, when he will be 82 and will bid to be the oldest-ever contestant to complete the race.

The Marathon des Sables - French for Marathon of the Sands - has been held annually in the Sahara Desert in southern Morocco since 1986.

The six-day race is comprised of stages up to 57 miles long, with a time limit for each stage.

Participants have to carry their own supplies and sleeping gear - though some stages are run amid the pitch-black desert night - and endure scorching temperatures, snakes, scorpions, and the occasional rainstorm.

Mario has participated in six of the ultra-marathons since his first in 1998, though he was only able to complete half of them, and hopes to compete in his seventh next April.

If he completes the race, he will become the oldest-ever competitor to do so, surpassing then-75-year-old David Exell in 2017, who himself bested famous explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes, who finished the race at 71 in 2015.

On the main challenges facing him in his near-insurmountable task, Mario said: "The main problem is not so much the heat or the fact you have to carry your own bedding, food and water for five days - but the blisters.

“You collect blisters like confetti from day one and for the next four days, you are really running on blisters, which is not too comfortable.

“Even the natives there, the Moroccans that run every year, cannot avoid the blisters.

“You have to drink nine liters of water a day and take salt tablet supplements because you lose so much from constantly sweating.

“You are going through nine liters of water a day and you have to replace the sodium in your body or you will collapse or faint - which many people do.

“Combine the salty sweat and the sand, which gets into your shoes no matter what you do… I think it is the toughest endeavor in the world.

“It combines not just sand dunes but stretches where you have to use a rope between boulders to climb to the tops of these rocky mountains."

Mario, who moved to England in the 1960s after completing his national service in Italy, has been running daily for 30 years now, but admits he has to step up his game prior to the race.

"I top my running up with gym work," he said. "Then, two or three months before the race, I tend to up the stakes and go on long-distance runs.

“I don’t think there is anyone older than me doing the race. A few years ago there was a Japanese lady who was 80, and she inspired me to say, ‘If she can do it, so can I.'"

Many of Mario's close friends and family have advised him to retire at his now-advanced age, but the pensioner says he still relishes the challenge of the 'infectious' event.

“My friends and family say, ‘Don’t do it!’," he chuckled. "In earlier years they said, ‘Not again, not again,' but now they have given up.

“They accept it’s what I want to do and I am going to do it anyway… But they all think I’m mad."

Asked whether his grandchildren were impressed by his ultramarathons, Mario admitted: “They’re pretty nonplussed, but I think maybe it’s something to tell their mates at school.

"It’s a kind of masochistic pleasure, you know?

“It’s one of these things that you hate at the time. You curse and swear and say, ‘Never again’.

“But once you get back and the blisters heal, you think, ‘When is the next one?’

“It’s infectious. Some people have done every single one since its inception; I’m an amateur compared to some of the runners.

“The top runner can do it in 23 hours. My best time was something like 55 hours.

“I beat Ben Fogle that year.”

Mario used the example of when TV presenter Bon Fogle, 49, joined him for the 19th Marathon des Sables in 2004, to demonstrate the severity of the event.

“We had to put him in a wheelchair to get him on the plane home,” he said.

“His feet were really mashed up. They were absolutely raw.

“I don’t think there was one inch of the surface of his feet not mashed up.

“Every time I see him on telly, I say, ‘I beat you, mate!’. He was half my age at the time.

“But there’s a great sense of comradeship at the race.”

The fundraising for charity, Mario says, is his other great motivation.

The satisfaction of handing over "a couple of thousand pounds to charity," he explained, made all the pain worthwhile.

In recent years, Mario has been raising money for the Evelina Children's Hospital in London, where he does his volunteering these days, having previously worked on geriatric and other children’s wards at least once a week since 1983.

He explained that the catalyst for his voluntary work was observing the special care his two sons received at Guy's & St Thomas' Trust when they fell ill and were treated at around the same time.

“They were around three or four, and they were hospitalized," Mario said. "One with suspected meningitis and the other with an acute ear infection.

“It turned out fine, but what impressed me was the care that the nurses were giving them.

“It was so good that they were happier there than they ever were at home.

“That gave me a feeling that one day, if I got the time, I would do something to give back."

After 40 years of giving back, the trust recently honored Mario for his selfless sacrifice.

Sue Cox, Associate Chief Nurse at Guy’s and St Thomas’ who presented Mario with his award during a ceremony at Guy’s Hospital, said: "We’re incredibly grateful to Mario for his unstinting support for so many of our patients over 40 years.

"Volunteers like Mario make an important contribution, providing a caring and welcoming service to our patients, visitors and staff. Thank you Mario for all you have done.”

Having entered his eighth decade, Mario has no plans to slow his life down any time soon, and says he will continue his ultra-marathon obsession until it's no longer physically viable.

“I never thought I would be doing this in my 80s," he said, "But I will carry on until I can’t do it.

"There will come a time when age will defeat me.

“Then, I will sit back and dream, and watch the competitors on the telly.”

Asked about his secrets to thriving and remaining youthful in his old age, Mario added: “I think you have to be disciplined.

“It’s not a secret, but I am very disciplined in what I eat.

“I don’t over-indulge… but I do enjoy a glass of red wine with my meals.”