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Red sand plain below a line of rock massifs under cloud in Wadi Rum
Juli Kosolapova / Unsplash

MDS 120 Jordan stage maps and checkpoints

Three stages through Wadi Rum, 70, 100 or 120 km in all, carrying your own food. You choose your distance on stage 2.

October 31 to November 7, 2026 Wadi Rum, southern Jordan

MDS 120 Jordan is the Marathon des Sables' three-stage race in Wadi Rum, in southern Jordan. You walk or run 70, 100 or 120 km, carrying all your food, and sleep three nights at a bivouac that stays in one place all week. Stages 1 and 3 are around 25 to 30 km each, and on stage 2 you choose 20, 40 or 60 km. The 6th edition runs October 31 to November 7, 2026, with the stages on November 2, 3 and 5.

The organizer doesn't publish the 2026 route. The exact course, distances and checkpoint closing times are in the roadbook you get at the checks the day before stage 1. The maps here are the 2025 route, placed from the race's own timing data: it started about 5 km south-southeast of Disah, put the bivouac about 6 km southwest of Rum village, and finished near the Wadi Rum Visitor Center.

The organizer says there's no mobile network at the bivouac. The 2026 course can differ, but a map on your phone shows you how the ground lies and how far apart the water is.

This is an unofficial guide: Goat Maps isn't affiliated with MDS 120 Jordan. Check the official site before you enter or race.

MDS 120 Jordan course map

Every course's checkpoints on the Goat Maps topo map. Each course has a map of its own further down.

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MDS 120 Jordan courses

CourseDistanceClimbingStartTime limit
Stage 1 (2025)27.8 km (17.3 mi)982 m (3,222 ft)
Stage 2: 60 km (2025)59.9 km (37.2 mi)559 m (1,834 ft)
Stage 2: 40 km (2025)40.4 km (25.1 mi)597 m (1,959 ft)
Stage 2: 20 km (2025)20.2 km (12.6 mi)226 m (741 ft)
Stage 3 (2025)26.4 km (16.4 mi)718 m (2,356 ft)

Stage 1

MDS 120 Jordan Stage 1 (2025)

27.8 km from the start in the east to the bivouac, with two checkpoints.

Distance
27.8 km (17.3 mi)
Climbing
982 m (3,222 ft)

The course line isn't drawn yet, so the map only pins where the checkpoints are.

Take this course offline

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Stage 1 ran on November 3, 2025, after the bus ride from the hotel. It started about 5 km south-southeast of Disah and worked west-southwest to the bivouac, 16.9 km away in a straight line. The checkpoints were at 9 km and 18.3 km.

It's the hilliest stage for its length: 982 m of climbing in 27.8 km, most of it in the first 18 km. In 2025 every format ran the same stage 1.

A lone sandstone massif rising from orange sand in Wadi Rum
Rita / Unsplash

Stage 2

MDS 120 Jordan Stage 2: 60 km (2025)

The 120 km format: a 59.9 km loop south from the bivouac with five checkpoints.

Distance
59.9 km (37.2 mi)
Climbing
559 m (1,834 ft)

The course line isn't drawn yet, so the map only pins where the checkpoints are.

Take this course offline

Download its map in Goat Maps and you can find the next checkpoint without a signal.

Open in web map

Stage 2 ran on November 4, 2025. The 60 km went southeast to CP1 at 10.8 km, west to CP2 at 22 km, then south to CP3 and CP4, which was about 15 km south-southwest of the bivouac. It came back through the CP2 area as CP5 at 51.5 km and finished at the bivouac.

The rules have you switch your headlamp on at nightfall on this stage, and the course markers reflect the light. In 2025 the main field set off at 7:00 and the last 60 km finishers came in just after 1:00 AM, Ian Corless reported.

Sand and boulders at dusk in Wadi Rum, with the first stars out
Daniele Colucci / Unsplash

Stage 2

MDS 120 Jordan Stage 2: 40 km (2025)

The 100 km format: 40.4 km from the bivouac with three checkpoints.

Distance
40.4 km (25.1 mi)
Climbing
597 m (1,959 ft)

The course line isn't drawn yet, so the map only pins where the checkpoints are.

Take this course offline

Download its map in Goat Maps and you can find the next checkpoint without a signal.

Open in web map

The 40 km followed the 60 km route to CP1 at 10.8 km and CP2 at 22 km. From there it ran 10 km back round to the same spot, now CP5 at 32 km, and then on to the bivouac. It climbed 597 m.

Stage 2

MDS 120 Jordan Stage 2: 20 km (2025)

The 70 km format: out to one checkpoint and back to the bivouac, 20.2 km.

Distance
20.2 km (12.6 mi)
Climbing
226 m (741 ft)

The course line isn't drawn yet, so the map only pins where the checkpoints are.

Take this course offline

Download its map in Goat Maps and you can find the next checkpoint without a signal.

Open in web map

The shortest option went out to CP1 at 10.8 km, southeast of the bivouac, and came back, with 226 m of climbing. You still get the next day off with everyone else.

checkpoints

kmWhereCutoff
0Bivouac (2025)
10.8Stage 2 CP1 (2025)
20.2Bivouac (2025)

Stage 3

MDS 120 Jordan Stage 3 (2025)

26.4 km north to the finish near the Wadi Rum Visitor Center, two checkpoints.

Distance
26.4 km (16.4 mi)
Climbing
718 m (2,356 ft)

The course line isn't drawn yet, so the map only pins where the checkpoints are.

Take this course offline

Download its map in Goat Maps and you can find the next checkpoint without a signal.

Open in web map

Stage 3 ran on November 6, 2025, after the rest day, and started at 4:30 AM, so the first stretch was by headlamp. The course left the bivouac east to CP1 at 10 km, turned north to CP2 at 20.2 km, and finished about 650 m east of the Wadi Rum Visitor Center.

Most of its 718 m of climbing came between CP1 and CP2. The finish sits lower than the bivouac, at 840 m against 1,101 m. After the finish you go on to Petra and then the hotel.

A narrow sandstone canyon in Wadi Rum with a small tree on its sandy floor
sander traa / Unsplash

Entry and cost

You enter through the organizer's site, and each offer is a package: race bib, three nights at the bivouac in your own tent, four nights at a Dead Sea hotel (two before, two after), transfers from the airport, a visit to Petra and a gala dinner. Places are limited because the race runs in a protected area, and there's a waiting list once it's full.

For 2026 the Crowne Plaza offer was €2,550 per person from November 1, 2025, and the Hilton rooms €2,700. Every 2026 offer now shows as completed. Entry for 2027 (October 30 to November 6) opens November 18, 2026 at noon UTC+2: €2,450 to November 30, €2,500 in December and €2,550 from January 4, 2027, with €100 off for the first 100 to sign up.

You need the organizer's own medical certificate, signed by a doctor less than 90 days before the start.

Getting there

Vehicle tracks across red sand toward rock outcrops in Wadi Rum
Rinaldo Vadi / Unsplash

Fly into Queen Alia International Airport in Amman. On the official arrival and departure days the organizer runs transfers to the Dead Sea hotels, about an hour away. On other days a shared shuttle for six or seven people costs about 120 USD in all, and a taxi for two or three about 70 USD.

The organizer lists a passport valid six months from entry and a tourist visa issued at the airport on arrival: 40 JOD (about €50), for up to a month. Unless you stay on, you don't need the Jordan Pass, as MDS covers the extra cost of Petra.

From the hotel a bus takes you to the start of stage 1. You can leave a suitcase at the hotel. No one else can come with you into the desert: the rules accept no accompanying people, and any outside help is banned.

Water, food and kit

The organizer provides only drinking water. The checkpoints, about every 8 to 12 km, are water points, and at the end of each stage you get 5 liters to last the night and the first 10 km of the next day. Food is on you: plan on 10 to 12 meals and at least 2,000 kcal a day. Gas stoves aren't allowed.

The mandatory kit includes a 20 L pack or similar, at least 1.5 L of water, a sleeping bag, a headlamp with spare batteries or a battery pack, a lighter, whistle, metal-bladed knife, signal mirror, survival blanket, skin antiseptic, sunscreen and sunglasses. Add 10 safety pins, 8 stock cubes (two a day), €100 in cash and your passport. Everyone carries a GPS beacon with an alarm button.

The bivouac has toilets (bring paper), shaded common areas and a medical tent open around the clock. There's no electricity and there are no showers.

Weather

The organizer gives November averages of 24°C by day and 8°C at night, so pack a windproof layer for evenings and the early starts. The bivouac in 2025 sat at about 1,100 m. If a sandstorm takes away all visibility, the rules tell you to stop on the line of the course and wait for the marshals.

MDS 120 Jordan checkpoints and GPS coordinates

For crews and spectators: each place on the map in decimal degrees, latitude first. Paste them into any map app or add them as waypoints in Goat Maps.

  • Stage 1 start (2025)

    826 m (2,710 ft)

    29.61208, 35.53322

  • Stage 1 CP1 (2025)

    956 m (3,136 ft)

    29.57659, 35.50301

  • Stage 1 CP2 (2025)

    1,018 m (3,340 ft)

    29.51749, 35.46268

  • Bivouac (2025)

    1,101 m (3,612 ft)

    29.53331, 35.38374

  • Stage 2 CP1 (2025)

    1,108 m (3,635 ft)

    29.48536, 35.43391

  • Stage 2 CP2 and CP5 (2025)

    969 m (3,179 ft)

    29.47106, 35.37636

  • Stage 2 CP3 (2025)

    958 m (3,143 ft)

    29.42150, 35.35076

  • Stage 2 CP4 (2025)

    958 m (3,143 ft)

    29.40381, 35.33744

  • Stage 3 CP1 (2025)

    1,060 m (3,478 ft)

    29.52722, 35.45939

  • Stage 3 CP2 (2025)

    955 m (3,133 ft)

    29.60175, 35.46234

  • Finish (2025)

    840 m (2,756 ft)

    29.63765, 35.44095

MDS 120 Jordan FAQ

When is MDS 120 Jordan 2026?

October 31 to November 7, 2026. You arrive on the 31st, do the checks on November 1, run stage 1 on November 2 and stage 2 on November 3, rest on the 4th and finish stage 3 on November 5. The 2027 edition is October 30 to November 6.

Is there a GPX of the MDS 120 Jordan route?

Not for 2026. The route stays secret until the roadbook and route map are handed out at the checks. The maps on this page are the 2025 route, from the race's live timing pages, which also let you download that year's track as a GPX. The 2026 route can differ.

Can you walk MDS 120 Jordan?

Yes. Walkers are welcome, and the cutoffs are set at a minimum speed of 3.5 km/h. The organizer puts the average speed at 5.5 km/h. If you want the shortest week, pick the 70 km format and its 20 km stage 2.

Which distance should I pick at MDS 120 Jordan?

In 2025 only stage 2 changed. Its options were 20.2, 40.4 and 59.9 km, so the week came to about 74, 95 or 114 km. The 60 km option runs into the night, with a headlamp and reflective markers once it's dark.

Is there phone signal at MDS 120 Jordan?

Not at the bivouac: the organizer says there's no mobile network, and no electricity to charge a phone. Download the course map before you leave the hotel.

Can family or a crew come to MDS 120 Jordan?

No. The rules accept no accompanying people, and outside help on the course is banned, with a penalty of at least three hours for taking on supplies.

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Updated . An unofficial guide, from the organizer's published information. Coordinates from the organizer's course and OpenStreetMap contributors. Photos from Unsplash. Organize a race? We help with course files.