Moroccan athlete 4th time winner of Sand Marathon

Moroccan athlete, Lahcen Ahansal, won on Friday for the 4th time the sand marathon and broke, therefore, the record of three victories he was sharing with Russia's Derksen.

The Moroccan athlete run the 281 km-long distance in 18 hours, 42 minutes and 10 seconds, ahead of his brother, Mohamed Ahansal who covered the distance in 19h 35 mn and 23 sec.

The 16th edition of Le Marathon Des Sables (Sand Marathon) kicked off Sunday with the participation of 630 racers from several countries.

Athletes, marchers, racers, youth and elderly, including more than 10% of women, took part in this physical and psychological endurance test that set out from the region of Erfoud.

Beyond the sporting competition, participants in this race to conquer the desert were after an unparalleled adventure that offers fabulous landscapes and provides opportunity to discover the splendor and magic of desert.

This week-long footrace in six phases across grueling desert terrain in Southern Morocco is a test of courage, determination and enthusiasm. The participants, carrying all their food, clothes and sleeping gear on their backs, only receive a nine-liter ration of water each day, and spend the nights on the hard desert ground under an open-sided Berber tent.

The participants, including a dozen European nationals, who are aged this year between 17 (a Japanese) and 78 (a French) do not seek to shatter records, but to reach the finish line. They walk or run to test their own capacity, challenge the desert and plunge in exoticism.

For the second consecutive year, doping tests were conducted according to the rules of the International Athletics Federation.