4th edition of Isalo Raid: Lambo Bertin at the top of his strength

Taking place on July 24 and 25, the 4th edition of Isalo Raid was a remarkable event during which sport, adventure and tourism were combined in a perfect harmony. The official start for this running competition was launched last Saturday at 2:00 am in front of the Ranohira town hall. Participants in the event, about fifty, had to cover an itinerary of 100km, including passages through different places of the national park of Isalo like Bebakaka, Sahanafa, Ankademoky and Andozoka. At about 3:00 pm the same day, Lambo Bertin, a Malagasy participant from Fort Dauphin, reached the finish line, very tired but also very happy to be the winner of the 4th edition of Isalo Raid.

Though taking part for the first time in Isalo Raid, Lambo Bertin, through his glorious past experiences in mountain ride competitions, has enough potential to win the Isalo Raid. Indeed, Lambo Bertin won many running competitions in his home town, Fort Dauphin, and participated in international competitions like the Diagonal des fous and the 97.4 which took place in La Reunion. Talking about his performance, Lambo Bertin stated: “My endurance helped me to win the race. At the beginning, I did not lead the race, but instead, I was running in a constant speed. It was only after the first 40km that I began to accelerate my pace, and eventually overtook all of the participants. However, one runner, a Reunionese, managed to follow my pace until the end. He almost even overtook me, but I used all of my strength to keep my position”.

Other than being a simple sports event, Isalo Raid is also an opportunity for its organizers, the UTOP and the Madagascar’s National Office of Tourism, to promote tourism in the region. In fact, in addition to the massive participation of foreigners, some foreign journalists covered the whole event.