Mohamad Ahansal

About

Mohamad Ahansal is a Moroccan ultramarathon runner born on January 1, 1973 near the desert town of Zagora in the Sahara region of Morocco. Raised in a nomadic family who subsisted on herding goats and sheep in the desert, he first started running at age 17 and went on to become one of the most accomplished desert runners in history. His five victories at the Marathon des Sables — a gruelling 250 km, self-supported, six-stage race across the Moroccan Sahara — came in 1995, 1997, 2004, 2010, and 2013, and he appeared on the MdS podium 16 times in 19 entries. He holds the Guinness World Record for the fastest crossing of the Sahara desert. His brother Lahcen Ahansal is the race's all-time record holder with 10 victories; together the two Ahansal brothers accumulated 15 MdS victories. In 2015, Mohamad and Lahcen co-founded the Trans Atlas Marathon, a self-supported stage race through the High Atlas mountains of Morocco that waives entry fees for up to 30 local participants per edition. He has also won the Volcano Marathon (run at 4,500 m elevation, 2013) and the Silk Road Ultramarathon in Iran. Ahansal is widely recognised as a key figure in developing desert ultrarunning in Morocco and inspiring a generation of Amazigh athletes.

Notable Wins

• — Marathon des Sables 1995
• — 1997
• — 2004
• — 2010
• — 2013 (5 titles; 16 podiums in 19 starts); Guinness World Record fastest Sahara crossing; Volcano Marathon 2013; Silk Road Ultramarathon (Iran)

Race History