39thmds | IAN CORLESS

The mood in bivouac was incredible after stage 1. Many happy runners felt relaxed with the race started and one completed stage. With nerves and anxiety settled, everyone was eager to continue the journey with stage 2.

With 40km’s and 614m+ the day was going to be a considerably harder challenge with 8km’s extra and almost double the vertical of stage 1. For the front of the race this would equate to one extra hour, for those towards the back, considerably more time on the feet.

Wiyh an 0700 start and a slight wind from the east, the runner’s were treated to cooler temperatures for the first 3-hours and then heat started to rise and by mid-afternoon, the temperatures hovered around 30-degrees.

Early action came from Mohamed El Morabity for the men and Aziza El Amrany for the women. Of course, the main protagonists were not far behind.

Maryline Nakache, Ragna Debats and Gemma Game followed Aziza.

For the men, Hamid and Amed ran side-by-side and then Rachid was in 4th just a minute back.

Passing through the early CP’s it was between CP2 and CP3 that Rachid made a move for the front and he pulled away.

Behind, Hamid was in a Mohamed and Amed sandwich, he was marked constantly and of course, Rachid continued to move ahead, reclaim lost time from stage 1 and win convincingly to provide enough margin to lead the race.

With 2-stages covered, the top-3 men are ranked:

Rachid El Morabity 05:54:35
Mohamed El Morabity 05:55:53
Hamid Yachou 05:59:40

Maryline Nakache is on fire this year, the 2023 champion started slowly but once in gear she was on fire, so much so she dominated the stage for the women and finished 6th overall and is now 6th on GC too – impressive.

Aziza El Amrany, the 2024 champion, battled hard, but it was impossible to match the pace of the French woman.

Previous MDS champ, Ragna Debats was in 3rd place ahead of Annelies Brak and Gemma Game.

With 2-stage complete, the women’s top-3 is as follows:

Maryline Nakache 07:07:27
Aziza El Amrany 07:48:31
Ragna Debats 07:58:51

Full results are HERE

Men ranking HERE

Women ranking HERE

Tomorrow, stage 3 is 32.5km’s and no doubt, for the majority, will be a day to move easily and efficiently saving as much energy as possible before the intimidating long day for stage 4.

Marathon des Sables Website HERE

Follow Ian Corless

Instagram – @iancorlessphotography

Twitter – @talkultra

facebook.com/iancorlessphotography

Web – www.iancorless.com

Web – www.iancorlessphotography.com

The wait was over, after 2-nights in bivouac, nearly 1000 participants were released into the Sahara at 0730am to the sound of ‘Highway to Hell!’ The 2025 MDS The Legendary was underway.

Anticipation was high and the enthusiasm electric on the start line. For many, the MDS The Legendary is a life time dream, reflected with 80% of the start field first time participants at the event.

With 32km’s to cover and 312m+ of vertical gain, the stage was designed to ease the participants into the 39th edition, the time allowance, 9-hours and 10-minutes.

Sunrise was spectacular and wind blow the participants from behind for the first half of the course, sadly, it would be a headwind for the return.

As expected, Rachid El Morabity lead the charge from the line with Hamid Yachou close. For 2025, Aziz Yachou will not race, Rachid’s greatest rival.

Rachid leads Hamid early on – Photo by Ian Corless

Behind, Amed Ouikhalfen, Mbark El Morabity and Mohamed El Morabity followed.

For the women, the 2024 Legendary champion, Aziza El Amrany set the pace at the front.

She was followed by the 2023 Legendary champion, Maryline Nakache with Gemma Game and Tomomi Bitoh following.

The pace at the front was fast, very fast and the main contenders were at CP1 in close to 30-minutes. Rachid pushed the pace opening a gap and constantly looking behind to asses the damage.

Rachid’s brother, Mohamed, was now moving through the field looking to make contact at the front.

Aziza was pushing hard, but Maryline was closing the gap having settled into her pace. Ragna Debats, 2019 Legendary champion was also easing into the race looking to gain ground on Gemma Game.

At the front, coming into CP3, Mohamed was now running with Rachid and Hamid was chasing, the brothers, once again were playing the tactical game to secure another victory for Rachid.

Rachid and Mohamed – Photo by Ian Corless

In the closing kilometers, Mohamed opened a gap and won the stage in 02:20:29, Rachid finished in 02:21:37 and Hamid 02:23:11.

I would read nothing in the victory of Mohamed, it is not a reflection of greater ability over his brother Rachid, purely a tactical game to secure victory for the elder brother and a record 11th title.

Maryline and Aziza ran side-by-side matching each others stride perfectly approaching CP3, would the elastic snap?

Yes! Maryline opened a gap and pushed the pace winning in 02:58:22 and 6th overall.

Aziza faded in the final km’s and crossed in 03:08:12.

Ragna finished 3rd in 03:17:14, and with this podium, we have 3 past MDS Legendary champions battling for the 2025 title.

The terrain of the day was classic Sahara, a mix of flat rocky plateau, small sand and rock climbs and a mix of small dunes. A great introduction.

Mood throughout the race was high, everyone was happy to have just started the 2025 journey, the anticipation high for the 5-stages to come. The youngest competitor 18, the oldest 76, a true reflection of everything that is great about the sport.

Full results are HERE

Men ranking HERE

Women ranking HERE

Tomorrow, stage 2 is 40km’s and we leave the bivouac of the last days to a new bivouac in a new part of the Sahara. A point-to-point day that will test everyone with a great deal of soft sand.

Marathon des Sables Website HERE