The smiles said it all. Athletes from around the world had put themselves so far away from their comfort zone they could have been forgiven for a grimace. But AlUla Desert Blaze is more than one of the toughest races in the region, it's a rewarding challenge for all kinds of runners. Across every distance, competitors young and old cheered each other on to what became a series of brilliant finishing line photos. A brilliant event briefing on Friday set the tone, excellent organization made everyone feel comfortable, and then a race day which brought people to the race route to cheer, the whole weekend in AlUla was filled with excitement despite the tough running conditions. The only question runners had was, "When is the next one?"