Lahcen Ahansal wins third day of Marathon des Sables

Local runner, Lahcen Ahansal won, in Zagora Tuesday the third day of the 20th marathon des sables.

The title holder finished the 41 km endurance contest between Jbel El Otfal and Talmaïdert with an official time of de 3h 19mn 01sec, two minutes earlier than his brother, Ahmed Ahansal, while the French Samuel Bonaudo finished third with 3h 41min 14sec.

Winner of the second day, Luxembourg's Simone Keyser Diederich also dominated the Tuesday women race to finish first with an official time of 4h 45mn 57sec, advancing French Virginie Thevenot (5h 1mn and 45 sec) and Isabelle Degrand (5h 16mn and 22sec).

On Wednesday, runners will go through the longest stage (76km) in the stunningly beautiful desert to the south of the town of Ouarzazate.

The Marathon des Sables is a six-day event through the Sahara Desert in southern Morocco.

Each day of the Marathon is an adventure unto its own, as each of the six "stages" ranges from 20 to 80 kilometres in length.