# Marathon des Sables

Marathon des Sables, or MdS, (French for Marathon of the Sands) is a seven-day, about 257 km (160 mi) ultramarathon, which is approximately the distance of six regular marathons. The longest single stage (2009) was 91 km (57 mi) long (2023 : 90.1 km).
This multiday race is held every year in southern Morocco, in the Sahara Desert. Some runners regard it as one of the toughest foot races on Earth. The first event of the Marathon started in 1986.

## History

The marathon was the brainchild of French concert promoter Patrick Bauer who in 1984 traversed the Sahara desert on foot and alone. He covered 350 km (214 mi) in 12 days without encountering a single oasis or desert community along the way. Two years later in 1986 the first Marathon des Sables was run. Twenty-three runners participated in the race with Bernard Gaudin and Christiane Plumere, both of France, finishing as the winning man and woman.
By 2009 over 1,000 runners participated in the event and the Solidarité Marathon des Sables association was created. The aim is to develop projects to assist children and disadvantaged populations in the domains of health, education and sustainable development in Morocco.
In 2017, two new Marathon des Sables events took place for the first time: the Half Marathon des Sables on Fuerteventura in the Canary Islands in September, and another full-length Marathon des Sables event in Peru in November.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic the 2020 Marathon des Sables (35th) was postponed from 3–13 April to 18–28 September, following a warning officially issued by the Ministry of the Interior of the Kingdom of Morocco as stated in the marathon's official website. It was eventually cancelled.

## Winners

| Edition | Year | Male winner | Nationality | Female Winner | Nationality | Notes |
| 1 | 1986 | Bernard Gaudin | France | Christiane Plumere | France | |
| 2 | 1987 | Hassan Sebtaoui | France | Marie-Ange Malcuit | France | |
| 3 | 1988 | Bernard Gaudin | France | Ange Malcuit | France | |
| 4 | 1989 | Hassan Sebtaoui | France | Claude Battistelli | France | |
| 5 | 1990 | Hassan Sebtaoui | France | Claire Garnier | France | |
| 6 | 1991 | Hassan Sebtaoui | France | Monique Frussote | France | |
| 7 | 1992 | Mohamed Bensalah | Morocco | Monique Frussote | France | First Moroccan man to win |
| 8 | 1993 | Mohamed Bensalah | Morocco | Irina Petrova | Russia | First Russian woman to win |
| 9 | 1994 | André Derksen | Russia | Valentina Liakhova | Russia | First Russian man to win |
| 10 | 1995 | André Derksen | Russia | Béatrice Reymann | France | |
| 11 | 1996 | André Derksen | Russia | Anke Molkenthin | Germany | First German to win |
| 12 | 1997 | Lahcen Ahansal | Morocco | Rosanna Pellizzari | Italy | First Italian to win |
| 13 | 1998 | Mohamad Ahansal | Morocco | Rosanna Pellizzari | Italy | |
| 14 | 1999 | Lahcen Ahansal | Morocco | Lisa Smith | USA | First American to win |
| 15 | 2000 | Lahcen Ahansal | Morocco | Pascale Martin | France | |
| 16 | 2001 | Lahcen Ahansal | Morocco | Franca Fiacconi | Italy | |
| 17 | 2002 | Lahcen Ahansal | Morocco | Simone Kayser | Luxembourg | First Luxembourger to win |
| 18 | 2003 | Lahcen Ahansal | Morocco | Magali Juvenal | France | |
| 19 | 2004 | Lahcen Ahansal | Morocco | Simone Kayser | Luxembourg | |
| 20 | 2005 | Lahcen Ahansal | Morocco | Simone Kayser | Luxembourg | |
| 21 | 2006 | Lahcen Ahansal | Morocco | Géraldine Courdesse | France | |
| 22 | 2007 | Lahcen Ahansal | Morocco | Laurence Fricotteaux | France | |
| 23 | 2008 | Mohamad Ahansal | Morocco | Touda Didi | Morocco | First Moroccan woman to win |
| 24 | 2009 | Mohamad Ahansal | Morocco | Touda Didi | Morocco | |
| 25 | 2010 | Mohamad Ahansal | Morocco | Mònica Aguilera Viladomiu | Spain | First Spaniard to win |
| 26 | 2011 | Rachid El Morabity | Morocco | Laurence Klein | France | |
| 27 | 2012 | Salameh Al Aqra | Jordan | Laurence Klein | France | |
| 28 | 2013 | Mohamad Ahansal | Morocco | Meghan Hicks | USA | |
| 29 | 2014 | Rachid El Morabity | Morocco | Nikki Kimball | USA | |
| 30 | 2015 | Rachid El Morabity | Morocco | Elisabet Barnes | Sweden | First Swede to win |
| 31 | 2016 | Rachid El Morabity | Morocco | Natalia Sedykh | Russia | |
| 32 | 2017 | Rachid El Morabity | Morocco | Elisabet Barnes | Sweden | |
| 33 | 2018 | Rachid El Morabity | Morocco | Magdalena Boulet | USA | |
| 34 | 2019 | Rachid El Morabity | Morocco | Ragna Debats | Netherlands | First Dutchwoman to win |
| 35 | 2021 | Rachid El Morabity | Morocco | Aziza Raji | Morocco | |
| 36 | 2022 | Rachid El Morabity | Morocco | Anna Comet Pascua | Spain | |
| 37 | 2023 | Mohamed El Morabity | Morocco | Maryline Nakache | France | |
| 38 | 2024 | Rachid El Morabity | Morocco | Aziza El Amrany | Morocco | |

## Notable participants

* Moroccan brothers Lahcen and Mohamad Ahansal, who won 10 and 6 editions, respectively, Mohamad also being 7 times second behind his brother.
* Lahcen Ahansal holds the record for most wins with 10.
* Mauro Prosperi, a former Olympian from Sicily, entered the race in 1994 but was set 291 km (181 mi) off course by a harsh sandstorm. He was lost for 10 days before being found in Algeria, following a well-publicized search of the desert.
* In 1994, René Nevola, Mike Stroud, Mike Lean and Richard Cooper became the first British runners to complete the Marathon des Sables. René Nevola was the first Briton to complete the race and finished in 22nd place.
* Marco Olmo, an Italian ultratrail specialist, ran all editions since 1996, with best placement 3rd (achieved three times). At the 2013 edition, Olmo was 64 years old, and he was 47 when he ran his first.
* Chris Moon from Lanarkshire became the first amputee to complete the Marathon des Sables in 1996. Moon had lost his right arm and leg while supervising the clearing of landmines in Mozambique.
* Dima and Lama Hattab, Jordanian twins, were the first female Middle Eastern participants in the race in 2001.
* Rachid El Morabity has won the marathon 9 times.
* Jack Osbourne entered in 2006 but quit early on in the second stage. He was running as part of his Jack Osbourne: Adrenaline Junkie TV series.
* Luis Enrique Martínez García (known as Luis Enrique), Spanish former professional footballer, and former manager of FC Barcelona, completed the marathon in 2008.
* James Cracknell, British rower and adventurer, competed in the 2010 race and became the highest-placing Briton ever to compete in the race, finishing 12th until fellow Briton Danny Kendall placed 5th in 2014. In 2017 Tom Evans became the first Briton to finish in the first three, finishing third overall.
* Explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes became the oldest Briton to complete the Marathon des Sables in 2015, at age 71. In doing so he raised over £1million for the Marie Curie charity. However, in 2017, David Exell became the oldest Brit to complete the race, at 75.
* Cactus became the first dog to compete the Marathon des Sables in 2019. Cactus, a stray dog, started joining in with the runners during the second stage of the race and then went on to complete the remaining stages of the race. Cactus was awarded the official race number 000 and received his finishers' medal.

## Incidents

* During the 2021 marathon, a French runner in his early 50s suffered from cardiac arrest which resulted in his death.