Where Every Drop Counts: 33 Days, 33 Ultramarathons Across the Sahara

The wind is coming straight at her. Sand in her eyes, sand in her mouth, sand in every fold of the cloth Tanja has wrapped around her face. All around her, nothing but open space. No shade, no village, no road. Just the next step. And the one after that.

This is what a working day looks like for Tanja Braun. And starting October 26, she'll live it 33 times in a row.

33 Days. 33 Ultramarathons. Not a Single Rest Day.

Tanja is a desert runner from Heidelberg, and she has set herself a goal that takes a moment to sink in: from October 26 to November 27, 2026, she plans to run 33 ultramarathons on 33 consecutive days in the Moroccan Sahara. At least 43 kilometers every single day. Through sand, heat, and wind. Without a break.

It's a world record attempt. But really, it's something much bigger: getting up 33 mornings in a row while your body still aches from the day before. Setting off 33 times without knowing what the desert has in store. Arriving 33 times, knowing that tomorrow it all starts again. No single run decides this record. What decides it is the choice to keep going, every single day.

Tanja knows exactly how unpredictable the desert can be. For her Sahara run last year, she had set out to cover 1,000 kilometers. Then the sandstorm came. She finished with 850 kilometers – and came home content all the same. Because in the desert, the desert sets the terms, not the plan.

Erg Chegaga: A Place That Belongs to Tanja

The record will be set in Erg Chegaga, a sea of dunes in southern Morocco. For Tanja, it's anything but unfamiliar. She has been coming back here for years – she knows the camp, the landscape, and the people who live and work here.

Every morning she sets off from the same base camp, and every evening she returns to it. Water, food, gear: she organizes all of it herself. She navigates with a map, experience, and a feel for a landscape that shifts with every gust of wind. Every kilometer is tracked by GPS, and every day is documented with photos, videos, and a logbook. Anyone who wants to can follow Tanja from the very first step to the very last.

Why It's Really About Water

Listen to Tanja for a few minutes and it becomes clear: the kilometers aren't the point. She isn't chasing "higher, faster, further." She's after the encounter with raw nature – and what it does to a person.

And if the desert teaches one thing above all, it's how precious water is. Here, nobody takes for granted that it will come out of a tap. Here, every liter is carried, rationed, guarded. And here, the consequences of human-made climate change don't show up in forecasts – they show up in people's everyday lives. That's exactly what Tanja wants to draw attention to with her record.

That's why the world record is part of her life's project, the Global Desert Race: ten deserts in ten countries, 10,000 kilometers. And that's why, together with the camp in Erg Chegaga, she is supporting the construction of a well that will improve the water supply and also benefit animals and neighboring camps. Because a record ends at some point. What should remain is what comes after.

Tanja calls herself a one-woman project. Her image for it comes straight from the desert: a single grain of sand is almost invisible. Only many of them together form dunes that shape entire landscapes.

Tanja's documentary shows what that feels like better than we ever could:

Brushing Without a Single Drop

And this is where our paths cross. You brush with Natch using a dry toothbrush – no water at all. Chew a tab, brush, done. No wetting, no rinsing, no tube.

At home, that's simply convenient. In the desert, it's something else entirely. A small habit turns into a question of respect for the most precious resource there is. Every sip Tanja doesn't need for brushing her teeth is a sip she can drink. And when you carry everything yourself for 33 days, every gram that stays out of your pack counts, too.

That our tabs are now a fixed part of Tanja's desert kit is the best confirmation we could possibly imagine. We developed Natch for everyday life. Knowing it also works where everything else runs short makes us pretty proud.

Go for It, Tanja. We're With You.

As official partner of her world record, we'll be with Tanja through all 33 days – every morning and every evening, in a desert without a single sink. You can follow her journey live from October 26 on her website and her Instagram. And we'll keep you posted right here.

33 days. Thousands of kilometers of sand. A goal bigger than any record.

Dear Tanja, we're keeping our fingers crossed for you every single day. And your teeth are one thing you won't have to worry about.

Your Norbert and Heber