Mauricio Odio Truque Diggedy, nicknamed ‘Cactus,’ became the first four-legged finisher of the grueling, 140.7-mile Marathon des Sables.
“Remember anything is paw-sible.” Perhaps the most inspiring tweet from the harrowing 6-day ultramarathon across the Sahara Desert last week came from a dog.
Though he joined racers from across the world on Day Two of the Marathon des Sables — and thus was ineligible for the overall win — Cactus the dog won the hearts of both competitors and countless fans online.
“A dog followed runners at the end of stage 2 and he keeps following them during this stage. Now more than 10.7 km in the race, and he’s first of his category!” the official race account tweeted.
Cactus the MDS dog ????????
A dog who started to follow runners during the second stage of the race. After finishing it, he took the start of the third and the fourth finishing them all.
He has run more than 120 km and is in good shape!
Is treated as a prince here at the camp ???? #MDS pic.twitter.com/4VGmwnGSr9— MARATHON DES SABLES (@marathonDsables) April 11, 2019
The hashtag #CactusTheMDSDog spread across Twitter, drawing in onlookers who’d never heard of Marathon des Sables. Dubbed the “toughest foot race on Earth,” the Marathon des Sables comprises roughly six marathons, one each day for a week across southern Morocco’s Saharan Desert.
Cactus the MDS Dog
But when Cactus joined runners, seemingly out of nowhere on Day Two and again for stages three, four, and five, he amassed a faithful following. Competitors gave him water (and post-race belly rubs), and he even earned a headline in The New York Times.
In response to the fanfare, race organizers gave Cactus an official race number — “000” — and a SPOT GPS device so followers could track his progress.
Looks like Cactus has a tracker today!
You’ll be able to follow him ????
Type Cactus right there ???? https://t.co/qrX9TqyoCA#MDS2019 #MARATHONDESSABLES pic.twitter.com/wkDFFbYoio— MARATHON DES SABLES (@marathonDsables) April 12, 2019
He even found time to launch a Twitter account (@DogMds), where he provided post-race photos and heart-melting puns.
Thank you for your paw-some support. You probably think I’m barking mad running in this fur-ocious heat but I’m having so much fun #WOOFWOOF https://t.co/eF5aV5X2uE
— MDS_Dog (@DogMds) April 9, 2019
When he crossed the finish line at the fifth and final stage, Cactus had run more than 100 miles through the desert. He even ran the entire 47-mile third stage, which he finished in just over 11 hours — well under the 31-hour human cutoff. Race organizers even awarded Cactus his very own medal after he crossed the finish line.
According to The New York Times, Cactus belongs to inn-keeper Karen Hadfield. Hadfield wrote on the race’s Facebook page that Cactus runs about 25 miles a day “just for fun,” and that he was “having the greatest time” in the race.
Racers and officials fed Cactus along the way, and he was safely collected by his owners after the finish.
There’s no word on whether Cactus intends to better his time or run every stage next year. At present, he stands as the all-time top canine finisher in the Marathon des Sables.
