It always promised to be the race’s defining stage and how it delivered.
The distance for the fourth stage was upped to 100km to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the ‘toughest footrace on earth‘ and Morocco’s Mohamed El Morabity and France’s Maryline Nakacke took giant steps towards outright glory.
It was the longest stage in the history of the MDS Legendary, surpassing the previous record of 92 km set in 2009.
Here’s how it played out in the Sahara…
Men’s race
Last year’s race featured a see-saw battle between brothers Mohamed and Rachid El Morabity. It was Rachid who eventually came out on top to register a record-breaking 11th victory.
And the close nature repeated itself over the first three stages this year, meaning that only around four minutes separated them before the ‘long stage’.
It wasn’t just the distance that added to the challenge but also the rapidly-rising temperatures as it turned into an incredible duel – though not between the brothers, but instead Mohamed and legendary French ultrarunner Ludovic Pommeret.
That wasn’t settled until the final strides when Mohamed pulled clear and crossed the line in 8:24:32, just 12 seconds ahead of Pommeret.
But there was more than 14 minutes back to Rachid El Morabity in third and that has shaken up the overall picture with just two shorter stages to come.
Mohamed, whose only previous win came in 2023, leads by 18:25 from his brother, with Pommeret now up into third place a further seven minutes back.
Women’s race
Defending women’s champion Maryline Nakache was already in a strong position after stage three – nearly an hour to the good over her closest rivals.
And that gap has now increased to closer to three hours after a commanding performance which saw her reach the finish in 10:02:22.
That was over an hour and a half in front of 2024 winner Aziza El Amrany (MAR) who in turn was well ahead of Desiree Linden (USA).
So barring an injury or unforeseen circumstances. Nakacke looks uncatchable – 2:42:07 ahead of El Amrany and 3:25:42 in front of Linden.
The leaders will now enjoy the luxury of a rest day before the penultimate stage on Friday.
