We reveal the strategies to win the Titan Desert

The Titan Desert is a race with which TwoNav totally identifies, since they share the same values of adventure, challenge and enjoyment. It is no coincidence that the winners of the Titan in recent years will rely on a TwoNav GPS to win the race.

But why has TwoNav been key in an extreme race where navigation prevails? To answer that question, we have interviewed Melcior Mauri from the KH7 team, a team that in 2022 has made the podium in three different categories: Women’s General, Mixed Duo and Sub-25, all equipped with a GPS Cross.

If you are considering participating in the Titan Desert in future editions, this article interests you.

How have you prepared the pre-race navigation?

In the navigation prior to the race we had to create maps to later be able to visualize the tracks and create the navigation strategies that I later need in the race.

Therefore, the previous work has been with the TwOnav technicians to be able to have the appropriate topographic maps of the area of Morocco where we were in the race, together with the orthophoto maps that helped me visually see the terrain and with that I was able to start working. navigation strategies.

This year you had a WayPoint Ghost 2 hours before the race. How did you fix it?

The organization always looks to create new challenges when preparing strategies.

A novelty this year has been the Ghost waypoint, which was given to us 2 hours before the start of the race.

Once I was informed of this novelty, I contacted the TwoNav technicians to be able to solve it:

“We have this problem, we are going to have an added complication when preparing the WayPoints route”, which is the route that we prepare and navigate, “They are going to create a WayPoint Ghost for us, and once I need to prepare the track to the runners, then they can individually enter those coordinates in the ideal place in an easy way”.

This is how, through the easy and simple configuration of the Cross, which is the GPS that practically all of us carry, we had everything ready to enter the coordinates 2 hours before the race, and place them in the ideal place so that we would not stop go through any mandatory steps, including the Waypoint Ghost.

During the preparation at home, can you anticipate preparing navigation options?

Yes, at home they send us the official tracks between eight and ten days beforehand so that each runner has the official track of the route. From there I have already done some preliminary work preparing the maps, so I only have to open the Software Land and start working with the track.

At home and during those eight or ten days beforehand, I never have the waypoints that are going to be given to us in the race with the obligatory points for each track, therefore I can prepare possible cuts in each track and save them in a folder for each stage, I can create different options that I will later use or not in the race, but the work is already done.

Explain us your day to day in the race. How do you prepare the strategy of the KH7 team with Land?

In the race the afternoon before they gave us the cardboard with the coordinates, the mandatory waypoints. In total in all the stages, except the last one that was shorter, we had 9 coordinates to enter.

In Land, I made a route with the 9 WayPoints which I was joining according to the kilometer points from the exit WayPoint, and then I created CP1, CP2, Refreshment, etc… with the correct coordinates.

Starting at 6:00 p.m., what he did every afternoon was to open the stage corresponding to the next day with the official track and create the route of waypoints with the Land, in order to know the mandatory waypoints of that stage. From then on, I would open all the clipping tracks that I had prepared from home, and I would discard the ones that were of no use to me because they did not go through the obligatory passage points.

I was also trying to see more clearly if there were any other options that I had not seen at home and create new cutouts.

Another thing that I did once I had the clipping tracks elaborated, was to create Warning Waypoints 200 meters from the clipping. Which helped us a lot, because a notice of “Shortcut 1” came out and thus the runners knew that at 200 meters they had the option of a cut. Then he evidently warned the Kh7 team runners that the shortcut was made through a map on the computer and that once they arrived they had to see if it was feasible. And off they went! To find out if we really managed to gain a few meters.

Once I had finished planning the route, I had to wait until nightfall, when they held a briefing where waypoints could be modified, and then I had to modify it and prepare it again for each runner.

From then on, I mentioned the cyclists of the KH/ team in a certain place to enter them in a single folder, and that is very important, because with the TwoNav software and the GPS, I had everything saved in a single folder “ETAPA 1” : Official track, obligatory waypoints route, warning waypoints, clipping tracks… And once they opened the “ETAPA 1” folder in their GPS, they only had to validate everything to be able to navigate the route the next day.

It was something that I was passionate about preparing, and the ease of the Land software and GPS Cross helped us a lot to enjoy it during the stage.

Have you enjoyed sailing through the desert?

Once we have prepared everything, it is time to execute what we have prepared, all the work that I have been explaining to you, and it is time to validate everything.

Navigating the route of waypoints, which in a straight line we know in which direction and how long we have left to reach that obligatory crossing point, once we arrive it indicates the next one automatically, and therefore, the moment of enjoyment arrives for me , and I think that for everyone, from what I have talked to my teammates, because everyone really felt that, that is, navigation in a race like the Titan Desert, I always say that it is the essence, if they take away navigation, they take away part of it of the experiences that we can carry out in the Titan, therefore the fact of starting the race and waiting for the moment to see when I have a shortcut, the more shortcuts you have the more you live the uncertainty of saying “I will have been successful, I will not have successful”… If it is simply following a track and there is no shortcut option, it is more “boring” therefore it is very rewarding.

I have really enjoyed preparing it and being able to live those navigation options at each stage

We thank Melcior Mauri and the entire Kh7 team for all their involvement and shared experiences.

Do you dare to participate in this adventure?

Feel like Melcior Mauri and enjoy planning the strategy of your next adventure by downloading the Land software for free.

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