About this episode

Max and Sarah discuss the challenges and experiences of a couple training for the Marathon des Sables while managing family life.

What happens when you combine young kids, an international move, and one of the toughest endurance races on the planet? In this episode, Max and Sarah were joined by Josie Kaufmann and Michael Canil — a husband and wife duo who recently relocated from Australia to rural France and took on the legendary Marathon des Sables. Often called the “toughest footrace on Earth,” MDS is a self-sufficient, multi-stage ultramarathon across the Sahara Desert — testing not just physical endurance, but planning, resilience, and mindset. But this episode goes far beyond the race itself. We dive into: How they balanced family life and training for an extreme multi-stage ultra What it really takes to prepare for Marathon des Sables The logistics of racing self-sufficient in the desert The highs, the low points, and the moments that nearly broke them What it’s like to go through something like this together as a couple Josie is coached by Max, which adds an extra layer to the conversation as we unpack how training translated into the reality of the Sahara. With Michael coming from a strong Ironman background and Josie stepping into her first major endurance event, this is a story of two very…

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