Vincent Carroll, 16, of Aptos, a cross-country runner at Aptos High School, is the youngest finisher in the 2023 Marathon Des Sables, and the youngest American to ever complete this 155-mile race across the Sahara Desert.
Vincent Carroll gets out his freeze dried dinner after the third day of the Marathon Des Sables.
The six-day 250-kilometer ultramarathon, begun in 1986, is one of the world’s toughest and most prestigious stage races.
Stages vary, from 10 hours maximum to 32 hours maximum.
Each participant must carry his/her own backpack containing food, sleeping gear and supplies such as sun cream, tropical disinfectant and venom pump.
Normally it is held at the beginning of April. This year, because of Ramadan, it began April 23. Temperatures were unseasonably hot — at times exceeding 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit). Over the course of the race, 1/3 of the field dropped out due to extreme heat and sickness.
Vincent started the Marathon Des Sables with his stepfather, Gavin, but after the first stage Gavin had to drop out due to a serious injury, leaving his 16-year-old son to continue alone or quit.
Vincent Carroll celebrates finishing the marathon stage, the end of the famed timed race. He was ecstatic to finish, but also sad.
Vincent refused to give up.
He ran all of stage two and part of stage three by himself. He had become dehydrated and was suffering from severe muscle cramps when he came across another athlete, 26-year-old Rachel Belmont. She took him under her wing, and they carried on together. At one point they walked 31 hours straight, sometimes crying, sometimes wanting to stop — but he kept going.
At another point, Vincent and Rachel helped save a Japanese man’s life by pressing his SOS button and staying with him until he could be evacuated. Vincent later gave his trail mix to another athlete who had run out of food, and comforted a man having a panic attack.
Vincent’s level of determination as well as his incredible strength of character would make him a winner regardless of whether he finished the race, but amazingly he did — becoming the youngest American to ever complete this extraordinary ace.
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Q&A with Vincent Carroll
The youngest American to finish the Marathon Des Sables shared his thoughts with Aptos Times:
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Why did you and your stepdad decide to run the Marathon Des Sables, the Marathon of the sands in the Sahara? What motivated you?
We decided to compete in this race for the adventure, training and for spending time together both in training and during the race.
How did you prepare?
Because I had only 6 months to train for this race, I was left a little unprepared. My training consisted of three easy days, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, and the long day on Sunday.
The long day was usually at least double the mileage of any one of the easy days.
I trained on this schedule to mimic the schedule of the race.
Besides putting my foot to the ground running, Gavin and I prepared by eating healthy, sleeping well, and with his knowledge of this race (he has completed it before) he taught me about what gear to bring.
Your stepdad dropped out of the race. How is he doing now?
Gavin is feeling a lot better now, and because of his injury removing him from the race, he is determined to heal and continue training.
What kept you going on and on by yourself?
What kept me going was the fact that I had trained very hard for this race, so I wasn’t going to let it slip away from me.
I put in a lot of blood sweat and tears during training, staying up late and waking up early, and I was going to do everything in my power to finish.
I feel like it’s also important to mention that Gavin dropped out after day one, and I met Rachel on day 3 and we stuck together until the finish line.
How did you withstand the heat?
Thankfully, the heat didn’t affect me a whole lot. It probably had an effect on me, but I didn’t really notice it.
What did it feel like to finish?
At first I was ecstatic, and in utter disbelief, and quite emotional.
It was a big sense of relief knowing that there was no more desert to be crossed, but also sadness knowing my adventure is coming to a close. The feeling of crossing the finish line cannot be put into words.
Will you apply what you learned to running in local cross country and track races? How?
Yes, of course. This race has taught me that you can do anything you set your mind to do, and that there is always more to give.
This applies to cross country and track in the sense that if I would like to get new PR, personal record, the only person holding me back is myself, and that I can always do more to get a better time.
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Top Photo: Vincent Carroll, 16, of Aptos, in his race gear and yellow charity shirt at the finish line of the charity stage of the Marathon Des Sables in Morocco. From left, his stepdad Gavin Sandford, Vincent, his brother Anthony, and his mom Eisha Carozza Sanford.