According to Finnish media, 48-year-old Finnish man Jukka Ville Rantanen ran across the Sahara Desert in 31 days, covering a distance of over 1,600 kilometers, becoming the first person in the world to achieve this feat. Rantanen's journey began on January 6 and ended on February 5 this year. His running route started from the town of Tan-Tan in Morocco in the north and ended in Nouakchott, Mauritania, traversing the Western Sahara Desert, covering a total distance of over 1,600 kilometers. During this time, Rantanen endured unimaginable hardships and faced tremendous physical and mental challenges. Rantanen said that such a running expedition requires a lot of preparation and incredible motivation. Despite the extreme difficulty, he always felt happy and his mind remained particularly clear throughout the process.
It is reported that Rantanen arrived in Morocco on January 3. After two days of preparation, he began his adventure. According to plan, he ran about 50 kilometers each day. In the first five days, despite suffering from knee pain, Rantanen completed the 250-kilometer journey as scheduled. Over the next five days, Rantanen encountered a desert storm with sand and dust blowing everywhere, which greatly hindered his progress. Sand got into his running shoes, causing blisters on both feet. Even so, with strong willpower, he completed the planned 250-kilometer distance. From day 10 to 15, the desert featured landscapes such as sand dunes and camels. Rantanen remarked, “Camels can go without food or water for months and keep walking, but I have to drink one liter of salt-containing water every hour. The supply of water is crucial.” Nearly 20 days into the journey, Rantanen entered Mauritania and had his first opportunity to take a shower. Over the next five days, continuous sand dunes posed some difficulties, but during this period, he was delighted to experience the region’s first rain shower in three years, which refreshed and energized him. In the final six days, he ran approximately 50 kilometers each day for the first five days. On the last day, with victory in sight, he summoned up his courage and miraculously covered 91 kilometers, arriving at the predetermined endpoint on the evening of February 5, thus completing the adventure.
Rantanen is from Espoo, a city in southern Finland, and is an economics lecturer. He loves running and is passionate about challenging limits. In 2007, he participated in the Arctic Marathon and Arctic Cycling Extreme Race held in minus 30 degrees Celsius; in 2008, he took part in a 200-kilometer desert run in Libya; in 2009, he joined a 100-kilometer run in Antarctica. In 2010, he ran across the Kalahari Desert, covering a distance of about 1,000 kilometers.