Over seventeen countries will be represented by competitors taking part

The youngest competitor is 24 years old and the eldest is 67 years old

Twenty-seven percent of competitors have already completed at least one prior 4 Deserts event

The largest contingent of competitors is from the United States followed by the United Kingdom

The largest contingent of competitors from Asia hails from Korea with nine

Seventy-eight percent of competitors are male; 22 percent are female

The average age of competitors is slightly more than 40 years of age

The Sahara Desert is the largest non-polar desert in the world

The Western Desert of Egypt covers a total area of 2.8 million sq km and is bordered by Libya in the west, Sudan in the south and the Mediterranean in the north

There are only five isolated oases in this vast expanse of desert

Farafra Oasis is the smallest oasis in the Western Desert

The largest excavation of mummies was made in a 6sq km area around Bahariya in the late 1990s

Johns Hopkins Hospital, UC Davis Health System and the 4 Deserts will be conducting a study on multi-day endurance athletes during the Sahara Race 2006

Approximately 300 competitors will have competed in the 4 Deserts in 2006, up nearly 50% from 2005