Lhoucine Akhdar

About

Lhoucine Akhdar is a Franco-Moroccan mountain guide and ultra-endurance runner, born in 1974 in Zagora in southern Morocco, who divides his life between Morocco and France. He earned his official Accompagnateur en Montagne (mountain guide) diploma from CFAMM in 1998 and has spent his career leading treks and endurance-running training camps across Morocco's desert and mountain terrain. As a racer he built an outstanding record at the Marathon des Sables, finishing the six-day, multi-stage Sahara crossing 17 times, always placing in the top 10, with a career-best 3rd place in 2005. He also won France's Corsica Coast Race outright in 2007 (runner-up in 2006) and has raced widely across ultra-trail circuits in Morocco, Réunion, Corsica, and mainland France. Drawing on his deep knowledge of the Drâa Valley, he went on to found the Grand Trail de la Vallée du Drâa (GTVD), a semi-autonomous stage race designed to showcase the region's landscapes and support its local economy.

Notable Wins

• — Marathon des Sables 3rd 2005 (17x finisher
• — always top 10); Corsica Coast Race winner 2007; founder of the Grand Trail de la Vallée du Drâa

Race History