Highlights:
· Athletes and support staff in the 35th running of MARATHON
· Rescheduled from 2020, MDS will take place
· Having played a vital role in over 7,900 rescues worldwide to date, SPOT's one-touch SOS button instantly transmits user's GPS location for speedy support in case of emergency
Each of MDS 2021's 800 pre-registered participants will have the small, rugged SPOT units mounted on their backpack. SPOT will transmit their GPS location every five minutes so that race organisers, emergency support crew, sponsors, family and friends can precisely track each runner's progress online.
This is accomplished thanks to
MDS is a gruelling multi-stage footrace and test of self-sufficiency which sees endurance athletes traverse the highly challenging landscape of the Sahara Desert; runners race across the sands of
MDS first used SPOT devices in 2015. That year, thanks to SPOT's GPS data transmission and emergency notification capabilities, during the course of the event, the MDS support team was able to precisely locate 18 competitors who found themselves in distress, and to quickly dispatch rescue teams to each. In fact, in the last three races supported by SPOT, the devices enabled no fewer than 45 competitors to be rescued within minutes. In the 2015 race, the use of SPOT even resulted in one rescue with the assistance of a camel.
A further 150 SPOT devices will be deployed for support teams at the 2021 event. As in past years, MDS 2021 race marshals will carry SPOT units and the devices will also be deployed in security and medical ground vehicles and helicopters.
If an incident occurs, such as injury, the runner simply presses SPOT's one-touch SOS button and their location data is transmitted by satellite from the SPOT device to race officials, making it easy to find the closest rescue team and to promptly dispatch support.
Customised tracking software including an intuitive user interface, provided by tracking specialist GlobalPlus+, a Globalstar Value Added Reseller based in
"We are delighted to again partner with
"MARATHON
"It's an honour to enable tracking and SOS emergency help for these super-human athletes as they test themselves to their very limits, and to provide MDS organisers, support and medical crews with the satellite-enabled tools they need as they carry out their vital role in making this amazing competition possible," he added.
About 2021 MARATHON
MDS 2021 is a gruelling multi-stage adventure through a highly challenging landscape in one of the world's most inhospitable climates - the Sahara Desert. Runners take on the challenge of a lifetime, facing the most extreme terrain as they race across the sands of
About SPOT
SPOT is a rugged, pocket-sized, low-priced personal GPS messenger that helps users stay connected via satellite even where there is poor or no GSM signal. If a runner gets into trouble, such as sustaining an injury, with the single press of a button, emergency services are alerted, their GPS coordinates are transmitted to the support crew, and help is immediately dispatched. SPOT provides off-the-grid messaging, emergency alerts, super long battery life, and extreme GPS tracking with intervals as frequent as every 2.5 minutes. SPOT devices have been used in over 7,900 rescues worldwide. For more information, and a list of retailers carrying SPOT products, visit www.FindMeSPOT.eu.
About
Note that all SPOT products described in this press release are the products of
.
(C) 2021 M2 COMMUNICATIONS, source