Moroccan Champion Seeks 10th Marathon des Sables Victory in Grueling Desert Race

If Rachid El Morabity achieves this feat this year, he will equal Lahcen Ahansal’s record. But the victory could be difficult to obtain for the Moroccan with the participation of four French runners, Mathieu Blanchard, Geoffrey Plisson, Pierre Meslet and Erik Clavery. "As long as we don’t run as a team like the Moroccans, it will be almost impossible to come and beat them on their own turf," Mérile Robert, 3rd in the 35th edition of the Marathon des Sables and absent this year for health reasons, said in October 2021.

"I’m glad we have a competitive team capable of better responding this year, and who knows, of getting a little into their heads and making them doubt. We’re going to tease them," Mathieu Blanchard told L’Équipe. "When we enter the dunes where being well oriented becomes essential, they send ’decoys’ (understand a Moroccan runner who goes out alone in front in the wrong direction, editor’s note) to trap us. Or they simply refuse to run in front, even if it means walking so that we overtake them," explains Geoffrey Plisson, 10th in the 36th edition.

For Mathieu Blanchard, 2nd in the last UTMB, "the idea is not so much to attack the Moroccans, I’m not sure we have the ability to do so, but rather to counter their attacks." One of the best ultra-trailers assures that he "at times suffered from their disorientation strategy in 2021, without however making excuses, they were better." But the real challenge will be to prevent Rachid El Morabity from winning his 10th title, and his brother Mohamed El Morabity from taking over at the head of this Marathon des Sables.

The Marathon des Sables (250 km in the Moroccan Sahara) is one of the toughest races in the world. Participants carry a backpack weighing about 7.5 kg to cover this distance in six stages. This year, one of the stages will be over 90 km long. During this first day, the runners will cover 37 km.