# 181 Miles in the Wrong Direction: Lost in the Sahara | E 241

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-crux-true-survival-stories-2136323/181-miles-in-the-wrong-direction-lost-in-the-sahara-e-241
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-crux-true-survival-stories-2136323/181-miles-in-the-wrong-direction-lost-in-the-sahara-e-241.md
Podcast: [The CRUX: True Survival Stories](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-crux-true-survival-stories-2136323)
Published: 2026-06-15T11:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://bleav.com/shows/the-crux-true-survival-stories/?post_type=gp_podcast_episode&p=317
Audio file: https://pdrl.fm/6c099d/pscrb.fm/rss/p/mgln.ai/e/1385/injector.simplecastaudio.com/5011364a-4adb-4853-94db-b451263aae87/episodes/2b05869c-ab7c-410f-bad2-7e507348bd18/audio/128/default.mp3?aid=rss_feed&awCollectionId=5011364a-4adb-4853-94db-b451263aae87&awEpisodeId=2b05869c-ab7c-410f-bad2-7e507348bd18&feed=Ze0KQfi5
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Duration seconds: 2109

## Resource

In 1994, Mauro Prosperi—a 38-year-old Olympic pentathlete and Italian police officer—entered the Marathon des Sables, a 156-mile ultramarathon across the Moroccan Sahara. A sandstorm on day four erased his trail, his map, and any way home. What followed was nine and a half days alone in the desert: bat blood, his own urine, a suicide attempt his body wouldn't allow, and a walk in the wrong direction through one of Earth's harshest places—while search teams looked 170 miles away.

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