legends | IAN CORLESS

The GOAT of the Sahara – Photo by Ian Corless

The 2025 and 39th edition of MDS The Legendary came to a conclusion with a 21.1km stage under cloudy skies with occasional rain.

A hard won reward – Photo by Ian Corless

The weather did not dampen the spirit of the runner’s though, they were elated, excited and happy knowing that no matter what, today, they would cross the final finish line and receive a medal.

The atmosphere on the start line was electric, especially with an unplanned live version of Highway to Hell by Reujen Lista.

The stage concluded at the iconic Merzouga Dunes and in reality, all the racing was done, at least for the top-3 positions in the men’s and women’s races.

Rachid El Morabity would be crowned champion for the 11th time, a record!

Maryline Nakache would be crowned champion for the 2nd time, this year though, her victory is extra special, she ranked 4th overall, an incredible result. Also notable, her time, was just over 2-hours slower than Rachid, 23:57:20 to Rachids’ 20:55:47.

Mohamed, Mbark and Rachid, unstoppable brothers – Photo by Ian Corless

For perspective, the last finisher was Tomohito Hirai in 75:49:27 and the last female finisher was Sarah Thomas Britton 74:01:23.

An incredible 847 were crowned ‘Legends’ when they crossed the line, a 95% success rate.

The 39th edition will be remembered for a calm ‘classic’ MDS start, temperatures were good, the wind was low and the skies were blue.

However, on stage 4, the long day, the winds increased under what was a cooler and cloudier day. By 2100 hours the wind was roaring, sand was blowing everywhere and suddenly heavy rains came making the conditions horrific for those out on the course and difficult for those in camp.

The cooler weather stayed for stage 5, however, it did brighten in the afternoon only to become windy once agin.

Stage 6 was cloudy and wet at the start and it remained that way for most of the day. The rain came, went, and came back again.

In brief summary, the 39th edition route introduced competitors new areas of the Sahara and stage 2 was considered the hell stage with a great deal of soft sand. Conditions were variable, despite the strong winds and some rain, cooler temperatures certainly made the race more manageable.

FULL RESULTS HERE

Photo Galleries HERE

The emotion on the finish line was electric, as always, from first to last, a whole rane of emotions were witnessed, the glow of a medal making the 6-stage, 250km journey a memorable life changing one.

The awards ceremony in Ouarzazate, may well have been the most memorable yet. The film was shown to a huge applause and then, we were all treated to a live performance by Reujen Lista who performed three songs, the last one, of course, Highway to Hell!

Marathon des Sables Website HERE

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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