Finnish runner crosses Sahara solo
jukka viljanen Where there's a will, there's a wayA Finnish ultra-distance runner has become the first person to run solo across the Sahara desert.
Forty-eight year old Jukka Viljanen completed the 1,600-kilometre distance in 31 days.
His route took him from the Moroccan town of Tan-Tan in the Anti-Atlas mountain range to Southern Mauritania near the Senegalese border.
Along the way, he faced blisters, sandstorms, a knee problem and the need to drink about a litre an hour of water fortified with electrolytes.
On his final day, he surprised his support team by running 91 kilometers instead of his usual 50.
Viljanen’s previous exploits include the North Pole Marathon in 2007, a 200 kilometre run across the Libyan desert in 2008, a 100 kilometre Antarctic Ice Marathon in 2009 and a 1,000 kilometre run across the Kalahari Desert in 2010. This was his longest run to date.
Viljanen, who has a university degree in business, lives in Espoo with his partner, who is also an adventure runner.
VL
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