Warm-up
Answer a few quick questions before today’s lesson about sport.
Listening
Listen to the recording and answer the questions in each part. You can replay the audio as many times as you need — click anywhere on the progress bar to jump to a specific moment. Read the questions in each part first, then submit when you are ready; your answers will be marked together at the end of each part.
Listening — Desert Ultra: An Ultramarathoner's Journey
This listening task is split into parts. The audio player stays at the top of the page so you can replay it freely — click anywhere on the progress bar to jump to a specific moment. For each part, read the questions first, then listen and answer. You can change your answers until you click Submit; feedback appears once you submit each part.
Reading
Read the passage on the left, then work through the questions on the right.
Reading — Running Across the Sahara: Inside the Desert Ultra
Read the passage on the left, then answer the questions one by one.
Running Across the Sahara: Inside the Desert Ultra
The Desert Ultra is one of the world's most gruelling endurance races. Each year, hundreds of competitors attempt to run 250 kilometres across the Sahara Desert in Morocco over six days. The race takes place in temperatures that often exceed 45°C, across terrain of soft sand, rocky plateaus and dried riverbeds. Runners must carry all their own equipment and water in backpacks, making them entirely self-supported throughout the event.
Participants come from over 40 countries to test their physical and mental limits. The race demands exceptional stamina; many athletes spend a year preparing through high-altitude training and desert simulation exercises. Dehydration is the greatest threat, alongside heat exhaustion and foot injuries from the abrasive sand. Those who push through the early stages often hit a breaking point around day four, when exhaustion and doubt become overwhelming. However, competitors report that finishing the race transforms their sense of what the human body can endure.
The Desert Ultra was first organized in 1986 and has grown from 40 runners to over 800 annually. Race organisers emphasize that completion requires not just physical strength but psychological resilience. Finishers receive a medal, but most say the real reward is the personal achievement and the friendships forged in the desert. For many, the Desert Ultra represents a chance to prove something to themselves—that they could summit their own Everest on foot.
Vocabulary Practice
Practise the 12 key vocabulary items from this lesson through three exercises.
Vocabulary Practice — Desert Ultra
Work through all three parts. Each part uses the same vocabulary in a different way.
Writing Task
Your friend Alex has just watched a documentary about the Desert Ultra and has sent you this message: 'Wow, that race looks insane! Could you ever do something like that? What would make you want to push yourself to such an extreme? Let me know what you think!'
You should address:
- Say whether you could/would do the Desert Ultra or a similar challenge
- Give at least two reasons why people attempt extreme endurance events
- Use vocabulary from the lesson (gruelling, stamina, breaking point, terrain, etc.)
- Use past simple, present perfect, or modals (could, might, would) naturally
Speaking
Speaking task. Read the instructions, then complete the task.
Teacher Guide
Practise with
- championshipnoun
a competition to find the best person or team
- competitiveadjective
involving strong competition where people or organisations try to be better than others
- extreme sportnoun phrase
A dangerous sport where people do risky activities that need skill and bravery.
- marathonnoun
a long-distance running race
- refereenoun
a person who makes sure rules are followed
- spectatornoun
a person who watches a sports event or other public performance
- sportingadjective
relating to sport; showing fair and generous behaviour in competition or difficult situations
- squashnoun
A fast indoor racket sport played on a court, or a soft vegetable.
- tournamentnoun
a competition where many players or teams compete against each other to win a prize
- umpirenoun
someone whose job is to make sure that players obey the rules in some sports