Time allowance 06-hours 30-minutes/ 0630am start

The 2024 Marathon des Sables – The Legendary is over. The race concluded with stage 6 and 21.1km to cover; challenging terrain of stony plateau, small dunes, an ascent to Jebel Mefatigbzef, wadi, and a palm grove finish – the MDS medal hard earned! Rachid El Morabity and Aziza El Amrany the champions!

Once again it was an early start as everyone had to prepare for an 0630 start time.

The last day was all about survival and getting the job done as quickly as possible, crossing the line and receiving the medal. The finish line for 2024 incredible, it was full of tears, emotion, relief and laughter; all accompanied by a DJ and party tunes. Quite a way to finish the race.

However, while the women’s race was decided early on and the top-3 places confirmed, the men’s race was a potential nail biter.

The El Morabity brothers had played their trump card on stage 5 and now Rachid could smell a 10th victory, however, he would need to perform at a top level to make this happen and make sure Aziz Yachou did not attack and pull back time.

The trio started fast and it stayed that way for the duration of the 21.1km’s. Aziz looking to break Rachid.

No matter how Aziz tried, Rachid responded and as the finish came in sight, the 9 times MDS champion pulled away, removed his Moroccan flag from his pack and secured a 10th victory. Mohamed eased up making sure that Rachid pulled back the required seconds to win overall, but not so many seconds that he would lose 2nd place.

Aziza El Emrany finally took the MDS top slot after many years coming close. It was great to see and one that is really deserved, she was in incredible form this year. Aziza Raji placed and for the third time, Gemma Game placed 3rd again.

The story though was all the legends who crossed the line and achieved greatness in making it through the Sahara to place a medal around their neck.

The 2024 edition has proven to be a memorable one, with a new organisation and many changes, many feared the race would lose something, not so. The opposite, the general consensus has been approval and open appreciation for what repeat MDS participants have said, ‘the best yet!’

As in any race, some don’t make the finish. For the 2024 MDS, at the time of writing, only 60 are DNF’s, this is from 867 starters.

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