Mérile Robert

About

Mérile Robert is a French IT engineer and ultrarunner from Hérault who has become one of the most quietly remarkable performers on the multi-stage ultra circuit over the past decade, combining an ordinary professional life with extraordinary desert racing. He came to running as a lifestyle choice -- originally to lose weight -- spent roughly fifteen years on roads and in city marathons, then completed his first Marathon des Sables in 2012. The Moroccan desert captured him immediately: top-fifteen finishes at MdS in 2012 and 2016, then a breakout podium in 2018 when he placed 3rd overall across the 250-kilometre Saharan stage race (20:41:00) after leading for stretches of the early stages, and a repeat 3rd in 2021 (22:39:02) as the lone non-Moroccan finisher on the men's podium behind the El Morabity brothers -- his fifth MdS finish at the time. He has kept returning since, finishing 9th overall in 2024 (24:21:23) and 10th at the 40th-anniversary Marathon des Sables Legendary in 2026 (25:11:10), for seven career MdS finishes overall and a UTMB Index of 708. In 2022 he expanded into North American desert racing, winning the Grand to Grand Ultra, a point-to-point self-supported multi-stage event from Utah to Arizona. With each MdS participation Robert raises funds for Mécénat Chirurgie Cardiaque, an association that brings children from developing countries with cardiac malformations to France for surgery they cannot access at home.

Notable Wins

• — Marathon des Sables 3rd 2018 (20:41:00)
• — 3rd 2021 (22:39:02)
• — Grand to Grand Ultra winner 2022

Race History