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 day looks like for Tanja Braun. And since October 26, she's been living 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 is running 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 is being set in Erg Chegaga, a sea of dunes in southern Morocco. For Tanja, it's anything but unfamiliar. She has been returning regularly since 2024, to Mohamad Ahansal's camp, which has become a fixed reference point of her Global Desert Race.
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.
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.
A Well for Erg Chegaga
For Tanja, a project doesn't end with the last kilometer. Her time on the ground has taught her just how much water shapes daily life and what's possible for the people there. And out of that, something very concrete has grown: a well is being built at the camp.
Construction has already started and the well walls are up. Around 3,000 euros have been raised for it so far – but it isn't finished yet. Through her fundraiser "Wasser für Erg Chegaga", Tanja keeps collecting for the next stages of work and materials. What's needed next is decided together with Mohamad and the people on site.
The world record itself has nothing to do with this; it isn't financed by these donations. But the 33 days give Tanja the chance to stay in one place longer and keep following the well's progress.
Our Charity Bundle: Brushing for the Well
And this is where you come in. Together with Tanja, we've put together a bundle containing exactly what ends up in Tanja's desert kit:
- 1 large bottle of Prof. Dr. Shaman
- 1 large bottle of Bittersweet
- 1 mini Dr. Shaman
- 1 mini Bittersweet
- 1 bamboo toothbrush
All of it for 39.90 EUR. For every bundle sold, we donate 10% of the sales to Tanja's fundraiser "Wasser für Erg Chegaga" on GoFundMe.
No complicated campaign, no fine print. You get your oral care that works without a drop of water, and part of it turns into water for people who can't take it for granted.
Or, to put it in Tanja's own image: a single grain of sand is almost invisible. Only many of them together form dunes.
Go for It, Tanja. We're With You.
As official partner of her world record, we're with Tanja through all 33 days – every morning and every evening, in a desert without a single sink. You can follow her journey live 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
