Morocco: Rachid el Morabity of Morocco has won the 2015 Edition of Marathon des Sables. He continued his perfect race to run the 42.2km (26.2 miles) in a time of three hours, 22 minutes, 59 seconds according to preliminary results. Second was Abdelkader El Mouaziz of Morocco with compatriot Aziz El Akad third.
Organisers said over 1200 runners set off on Friday (April 10) to run the fifth and final leg of the Marathon des Sables in Morocco.
The road book called for the runners to traverse the Ziz wadi, one of the region’s largest wadis, before linking to the Znaigui erg with nearly 3km of dunes.
Leading the race throughout, Morocco’s Rachid el Morabity held onto his title and took his third win whilst Sweden’s Elisabet Barnes achieved a first win in the women’s category on her second attempt. Second was Anna-Marie Watson of Great Britain with Russia’s Natalia Sedykh third.
On Saturday (April 11) the runners will compete in a 11.5km Solidarité Unicef leg, which is for charity and does not affect their scores, traversing the Merzouga dunes, Morocco’s highest and finest.
Final overall podium positions:
Men’s race:
1. Rachid El Morabity (Morocco 1)
2. Abdelkader El Mouaziz (Morocco 3)
3. Aziz El Akad (Morocco 2)
Women’s race:
1. Elizabeth Barnes (Sweden 168)
2. Anna-Marie Watson (Great Britain 528)
3. Natalya Sedykh (Russia 926)
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