Is it Safe to Run in Morocco?

  People often like to ask me questions like, "Is it safe to run in Morocco?" "Isn't it scary to run in a foreign country?" "Isn't running there dangerous?"

  If you were to do a quick Google search on this topic you might get the idea that running/jogging is a rare thing in Morocco and that you might be the only one out there or that if you are female runner it might be dangerous. When I first visited Morocco I was nervous about running here because of how different a place I thought it was. But as I have learned, in my time living here is that's just not quite the truth. Just like a lot of other countries running is common (and getting more so) here. In some cities it is more popular than others, such as in Marrakech, Casablanca, or Rabat you will probably see more runners than you will see in villages or rural areas, but this is often true of anywhere.

  So, back to the question, "Is it safe to run in Morocco?" Just like running in anywhere, running here can have some inherent risk associated with it. Twisted ankles, traffic, crowded streets, pollution, local cultural differences, and weather are all things that need to be taken into account. But for the most part if you run against the traffic and use common sense, running in Morocco is safe. I think that part of the apprehension a lot of people may have is because the culture and language are so different from what they are used to. The unknown can be scary and being somewhere where you feel so out of place can be intimidating. But the unknown doesn't equal danger. 

    Now that I have said several times that it is safe, what about the claims that it is not safe. The truth is that everyone is going to have different experiences, some good and some bad. I've heard stories about women having men yell out to them and harass them while running but things like that will happen in NYC's Central Park or in London (I've also had people call out at me in the USA, Spain, Italy and in Morocco), it's not right but it happens everywhere. My experience, the experience of my wife, and many of my friends, who run here, are good ones. We try not to run during rush hour or at the hottest part of the day, nor do we run late at night. We dress respectfully (I do where shorts and so do some of the women i know, others wear 3/4 pants)... (this could be a whole post on its own... and probably will be) and my wife runs with friends. From this blog you can see that I have run in many different places and at different times in Morocco and safety has rarely ever been a problem for me. Morocco's government works hard to make it's country a safe place to visit.

  My goal here is not to try and convince you that Morocco is the safest place on Earth to run or that nothing has or ever will happen to a runner. Rather, it is to encourage you to take a chance and not put off one of your passions or hobbies you enjoy while on holiday in Morocco because you heard some stories. Pack your shoes and running kit the next time you plan a trip to Morocco. Be smart about it, run with a friend if you want or one of our coaches, tell someone where you're going and take money for a taxi back (just in case), but enjoy running in one of the most beautiful places on earth and take in the country in a way few foreigners get to see it.

  Our running tours offer a great way to get out there for a safe run with someone who knows the area and runs here almost every day. They know the area's best for running and the best sights to see. Also, as you'll be running with someone who lives here there is the added bonus of getting to hear about Morocco from a different perspective. When you book a run with us you will be able to forget some of those worries about running alone and just enjoy your run. You can see the kinds of runs we offer here and you can register here.

  Now plan your trip and get out there and run.

The 2015 Morocco Race 65k Race Report

  This past November I ran the first edition of the Morocco Race 65km Ultra Marathon. While this wasn't the first ultra race I had ever ran, it was my first in Morocco so I wasn't sure what to expect. 

  Before I get into my race report let me just say that I wasn't expecting to run an ultra last year. I had been training for the 2015 Casablanca Marathon and was surprised one afternoon when my wife told that she had found a new race online and it was going to be only a month after finishing the Casablanca race. Realizing that even though there would be enough time to recover (sort of) but not really enough to retrain for the extra distance, I went ahead and registered. It also helped that the start and finish of the race were only about 45 minutes from Marrakech where I live. 

  Registration was simple enough. They offered online registration for anyone coming in from out of country or for those of us who live locally we were able to register at the new Decathlon sports store right here in Marrakech. I filled out the paper, paid the entry fee and that was it. The only other thing they needed was a doctor's release form saying I was ok to run a long race. 

  All that was left for me was to run the Casablanca Marathon and not get injured. 

Pre-race and check-in

This is the registration area as well as the start and finish area for the race

  The day before the Morocco Race my family and I drove up to Teres Armanar. It's a hotel/events/zip line/retreat center located at the foothills of the Atlas Mountains and also was playing host to the start and finish area for the race. We had booked a room online and once we got there we were very pleased with the quality of the room. In fact I was impressed many times during our stay at the quality of the place. 

  Next was check-in for the race, which again was super simple as the total number of runners was quite small. I got my race number and a bag with some swag in it. Then it was off to bed. 

The Race

The fire to warm up at was a nice touch for the 5am start

  The 65km event was set to begin at 5:30am, so after getting ready and having a small breakfast I headed to the starting line. After introductions and some pictures the race was off just a few minutes after the planned starting time. The first hour of the run was in the complete darkness with the only light coming from the headlamps we were all wearing. 

One of the beautiful views during the race

  If I had had any apprehension that this was going to be an easy run that was all taken away very early. While not crazy steep the trail pretty much was nothing but climbing around 1,800 feet in just the first hour.  In fact by just four hours in I had climbed more than 3,600 feet with very little decent and reached the second highest peak of the race at 7,246 feet. I came to the highest point only an hour later at 7,311ft.

  However, for the majority of the race one of my unfounded worries was about getting lost. Out in the Moroccan Atlas Mountains there may not be a lot of people but there are a lot of trails made by shepherds and their animals. Thankfully, the race course was actually rather well marked. The race organizers used a mixture of bright orange spay paint and flags on trees to mark the way. I only missed one turn, because I was messing with my pack, and got back on track relatively quickly. There was only one place where myself and another runner were unsure of and that was because there were some markings from another race. 

This was one of the best aid stations during the entire race

  After climbing for the first four+ hours I came to the first big aid station and took about seven minutes to sit down and refuel. Many of the aid stations just had water, juice, and a selection of dates and bananas, but every few ended up being very well stocked with soup, Moroccan cakes, Coca-Cola, Nutella, fruit, and more. 

  The second half of the Morocco Race, while being mostly downhill still had some massive climbs in it which coming in the second half the race really wiped me out. Since I hadn't really been training in the mountains, that really did me in. By the last four miles I was exhausted. I would manage to jog on some of the downhills and a few of the flat parts of the trail (very rare) but was moving very slowly on the final up-hill climb. 

Getting my finishers metal after crossing the finish line

  Thankfully the final stretch of the race is all down hill coming into the finish area. This was nice because as I came back into the hotel area I was actually "running" and was able to cross the finish line running with my 4 year old son. My final time 10 hours and 48 minutes with my Garmin saying a total elevation gain of 12,877 feet. 

Final Thoughts

One of the many mountain villages we passed through during the race

  The trails that the Morocco Race took us out on were amazing. I have spent some time in the Atlas before but the views I got during this race were almost unmatched. We ran through villages, forests, bare Rocky Mountain tops, past flocks of sheep and goats, and saw glimpses of the tallest peaks in North Africa. This is definitely a race I will be running again in the future. 

  One note about gear. I would highly recommend that whatever shoes you choose to run in rate well on rough rocky terrain. Much of the trail is covered by pointed rocks that can wreak havoc on a runners feet. 

Hiking Mount Toubkal 2015

  Not all of my adventures are spent just running around Marrakech or running in other big cities around Morocco. Living here (or this would also be true if I were just visiting here) has given me the opportunity to get outside of my comfort zone in so many ways. One of those ways has been to go climb mountains. I am from a place in America that is very similar in a lot ways to Marrakech, it's weather is hot and the ground is flat. Growing up I just didn't spend a lot of time on mountain trails, it just wasn't an option.

  So, a few years ago when a mountain guiding friend of mine invited me to tag along on a trip up Mount Toubkal near Marrakech I was like, "Sure, why not? I'm in decent shape I won't have any issues doing a two day hike up a mountain." It wasn't until he started telling me the gear I would need for the trip that I started to get a little nervous. Such as, many multiple layers, a bottle that will keep your water from freezing, crampons, and an ice ax. Being the smart guy I am with zero experience with snow and ice and despite my internal Jimmy Cricket screaming "no!" I said I was game. Lets just say while I made it close to the summit that trip I didn't go all the way. Snow, cold, and ice that November kept me from Toubkal's summit.

  That failure learning experience has stayed with me for the last few years and I've been waiting for the right time to try again. Well, that right time came this past summer, right in the middle of the summer, the hottest part of Morocco's year. Yes, my thought was if I'm going to summit this mountain I need to do it when there is the least likely chance of there being snow or ice up there. That is why a friend of mine and I set out from Marrakech early one morning with temps already closing in on 100 degrees at sun up for the start of the trail in Imlil.

  For most people climbing Toubkal takes 2-3 days round trip, one day to the refuge at 10,000 feet and another day or two to summit and return to the trail head in Imlil. We were aiming for two. We parked the car, strapped on or packs and headed out. Typically along the trail up to the refuge there are little stores that are occasionally open where you can buy water or a soda, but since we were doing this hike during Ramadan (a month of fasting for Muslims worldwide) we weren't sure if we'd get that opportunity so we were carrying a little extra.

  The trail up to the Toubkal refuge is not necessarily well marked but it is very well worn from the thousands of hikers that use it every year and from the donkeys and porters that travel it daily as well. Meaning that when you leave Imlil it would be hard to get lost, you just follow the trail up. At the start there are several small farms you walk past and a dry river bed and even a small town called Sidi Chamharouch. After this the only buildings you pass until the refuge are the shacks that are for the men selling water.

Tea after arriving at the Refuge

  From Imlil to the refuge it took us about 4-5 hours to hike the 6ish miles there. Since we left early in the morning, we made it to where we'd spend the night mid afternoon, with plenty of time to check into the refuge, take a nap, and explore the start of the summit trail a little of the way up. For me the nicest thing about the refuge we stayed at is that included in the price is dinner and breakfast and it was a big dinner. By the time I hit the bed that night I was very full and very tired, but excited to finally conquer the summit.

Looking at the Refuge from above. 

  Because of the time of year we chose to climb Toubkal there were very few people spending the night at the refuge. In fact at dinner there was only one other group, they were experienced climbers from Germany.

  We decided to leave before dawn the next morning to give us plenty of time to make it to the top and all the way back down to the trail head in Imlil. Since they don't really run the lights in the refuge for very long after dark (I think they use a generator) we went to bed early enough that an early wake up time didn't really matter.

  What did matter was the huge rain and lightning storm that rolled through the valley that night. It was crazy loud with heavy amounts of rain pounding the mountain. Thankfully we had opted to bunk in the main stone building of the refuge rather than camp out in the tent area they have set aside. Off to sleep I went just hoping that the storm didn't drop any snow overnight near the summit.

  The trail leaving the refuge to the summit immediately lets you know that while you're still on a well worn path it's not going to be anywhere as near as easy hiking as the previous day. Within the first half an hour we crossed a small river, did switch backs on a steep gravel slope, and walked across a decently inclined scree field. It's as if the mountain is reminding us to stay attentive and watch our steps.

 After reaching the top of a small ridge that sits just above the refuge area there are really only two more challenges to reaching the main ridge line; a bolder field and then an impressively high (for me at least) scree covered portion of trail. As you paying attention to both your footing and the spray painted rocks that serve as unofficial trail markings the boulder section is really quite easy to navigate through. Once we passed through it we got a nice section of relatively easy hiking as a reward.

  Then we came to the section of trail that when I had come to on my last attempt is what worm me out.

Snowy ridge line near Toubkal summit  

  Thankfully this time there was not a lot of snow where we had to climb the switchbacks other than a small layer that had been dropped by the massive rain storm the previous night. And by this time of the morning the sun was already about to crest the ridge line above us and was starting to melt it all away. There are actually two trails that lead up this steep scree field, one on each side of the valley. The one on the right takes a gentler approach making the ascent easier and the one on the left is not as nice. I didn't know this until the way down so we ended up on the left side.

  After two hours of climbing up from the refuge we finally made the ridge line and were greeted with a wonderful view and also our first sight of the summit. Now this is where on my last attempt I stopped. While the trail ahead isn't the most difficult portion of trail it can be some of the most treacherous. The trail is narrow and next to a ledge and while during the summer this was easy enough for me to navigate carefully it still freaked me out when it was just a snowy incline next to a drop.

Summit picture of my GPS watch

  From there its only took us about half an hour of following the ridge line until we were at the summit. It was an awesome feeling for me to summit the 35th highest mountain never really having done anything like this before. We took a lot of pictures/video and just rested there at the second highest point in Africa taking it all in.

  The descent was equally challenging and in many ways it was more challenging than the ascent. Once we reached the refuge, changed out of our jackets and gloves, we power hiked the trail almost all the way down stopping only twice for breaks. From the time we left our car at the trail head until we got back to it the round trip took us 29 and a half hours. Not bad.

Final Thoughts

  We really enjoyed our trip up Toubkal and are already planning another trip for 2016, it's just that kind of experience. If you're into this kind...... We did it this time without a guide but I wouldn't recommend it if it is your first time visiting Toubkal or if you're not an expert mountain climber.  There are just too many things that could go wrong. Just this past month I heard that a German climber was caught out on the mountain during a snow storm and ended up losing her life. Some might say that we went over prepared (over packed) but after being up at the refuge during that storm, knowing how remote you really are, and knowing that you could possibly get stranded, I was glad that we had packed a little more than we used.

   Most importantly I recommend using caution. While Toubkal is pushed in Marrakech as a great and an easy tourist experience it is challenging and dangerous. Hire a guide, pack enough food and water, stay on the trail, and use common sense. Summiting Toubkal is very rewarding and will be something I will never forget but if there's something I've learned from trail running in the mountains recently is that the mountains always have a trick up their sleeve for the unprepared.

Doing pull-ups on the Toubkal summit marker