It couldn’t have been closer in the opening stage of the men’s race while defending champion Maryline Nakache made a statement start in the women’s race.
It’s the 40th Edition of the MDS Legendary – billed as ‘the toughest foot race on earth’ – and it began with a 35km opener with 285 metres of elevation gain – in what were relatively mild conditions in the Sahara Desert in southern Morocco.
Men’s race
There were just 21 seconds between the first and second men as Mohamed El Morabity just got the better of his brother and record 11-time winner Rachid El Morabity in a one-two for Morocco.
That was a reversal of last year’s battle between the two when Rachid came out on top.
The race quickly took shape around a leading group of Rachid, Mohamed and France’s Michaël Gras.
The selection happened progressively before a decisive acceleration from the El Morabity brothers at Checkpoint 3. In a closely contested finish, Mohamed crossed the line in 2:26:29, finishing 21 seconds ahead of Rachid, with Gras four minutes and 34 seconds behind the winner.
Women’s race
France’s Maryline Nakache was the clear-cut women’s winner in 2025 and she started as she means to go on this year by finishing more than five minutes ahead of her great rival Aziza El Amrany (MAR).
But it had been El Amrany who took the lead early, setting a strong tempo.
The decisive move came in the second half of the course, when Nakache accelerated to create a decisive gap. She won in 3:04:01, five minutes and 33 seconds ahead of El Amrany.
France’s Agathe Teillet-Magot secured third place, 17 minutes and 26 seconds behind.
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