Who we are

This adventure started in 2016, when Pol, Said, Jan and Bart decide to get moving and unite around a cause.

 

After a 200 km run in the Sahara desert, the four friends discovered this remote desert region fifty kilometers away from Zagora, a city in southern Morocco. They were able to meet the locals, and among others, the children of the Boutyouss school and their parents.

The four sport enthusiasts, who fell in love with the region and its inhabitants, tried to find a way to help and support these children and mainly to help them in their schooling.

 

This is how the non-profit organisation “Run To Start” and the sports events “TZTM” and "Kasterlee Trail" were created.

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The TZTM is an Ultra Trail of 200 km in 5 stages, who takes place once a year in the Moroccan desert and is the very first event that has been organized to get funding for the non-profit organisation Run To Start.

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A few years later, a new team member has joined the adventure, Marc. Also, the organization decided to created the Kasterlee Trail, in collaboration with the Kasterlee Marathon, in Belgium. The Kasterlee Trail takes place once a year in Kasterlee and it is held over two days and offers different distances to run.

 

The annual trails in Morocco & Belgium, and other fundraising in Belgium have made it possible for Run To Start and its five Belgian founders to establish different projects for the Boutyouss region.

 

This also allowed them to expand their actions within the city of Zagora. The organization now works closely with the APCIZ Centre in Zagora, which offers a place for disabled children. 

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Due to the Covid 19 measures, the organization unfortunately could not organize the different events as they wished in order to collect the necessary funds for the different projects. 

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The organizers therefore decided to focus on certain projects that they felt were a priority, in particular the projects in collaboration with the APCIZ Center.