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Rabat – Moroccan Marathon Des Sables Champion, Rachid el Morabity, has taken second place at the prestigious European ultra marathon OCC, which is part of the Ultra-Trail du Mont- Blanc Festival.
The 55km race with 3300 metres of ascent takes place on a spectacular course through the Alps from the start in Orsieres in Switzerland to the finish line in Chamonix in France.
The UTMB festival attracts the most famous ultra runners from all over the world.
The winner was Xavier Thevenard of France with a time of 5hrs 28 mins and 37 seconds. El Morabity came in shortly after with 5 hrs 43.23 and five minutes behind him was another Frenchman, Thibaut Baronian with 5.43.48
El Morabity was sponsored and supported through the race by Cyrille Sismondini who is Race Director for UTAT – the Ultra Trail de Toubkal – which is an ultra marathon held in Morocco every October.
“For Rachid to come out here and come second is absolutely extraordinary,” he said. “He has taken on some of the best mountain runners in the world on their own ground and beaten them. This proves his talent and potential. Congratulations to Rachid on a fantastic race!”
After the race, El Morabity said, “It wasn’t easy to get to the podium at OCC! The course was really hard due to the heat and also the high level of the other competitors. The mountains are a whole different environment. But I have learnt a lot and gained a lot of experience and I hope to come back.”
El Morabity has won the Marathon des Sables in Morocco four times and is one of the most talented runners currently competing in the country.
