Moroccan Rachid El Morabity and Russian Nathalia Sedykh on Saturday won Morocco's 31st Marathon des Sables, an ultra marathon covering 250 kilometers.

Leader of the overall standings since the first stage, El Morabity signed his fourth success in the event, the third in a row with an overall time of 21 hours one minute and 21 seconds after five stages.

In the fifth stage (42.2 km), Moroccan Abdelkader El Mouaziz crossed the finish line in 3:44:32, ahead of his countryman Moroccan Aziz Akad in 3:11:34 and El Morabity in 3:11:41.

In the women's category, Natalia Sedykh, third in the Marathon des Sables 2015, topped the overall standings with a time of 24:45:26 after her wins in the five stages.

A total of 1,100 runners from all over the word spent six days crossing over 250km of difficult desert terrain. The ultra-marathon was open to runners and walkers, to individuals and teams, and to amateur and elite runners, including a number of trail world champions.

In this marathon, which has been dubbed the toughest footrace on earth, participants must be self-sufficient carrying everything they need in a pack. Water is provided but rationed and a tent (bivouac) is provided each evening that must be shared with seven other participants.