RABAT, April 13 (Xinhua) -- Moroccan Rachid El Morabity claimed on Friday the 33rd edition of Marathon Des Sables, his sixth victory in this race.

El Morabity won the marathon with a time of 19:35:49, ahead of his brother Mohamed El Morabity with 20:01:28 and France's Robert Merile by 20:41:00.

In the women's category, American athlete Magdalena Boulet won with a time of 25:11:19 followed by Danish Bouchra Eriksen 26:36:00 and British Gemma Game 27:00:23.

Marathon Des Sables is an annual ultra-marathon that brings together more than 1,000 runners, who run six regular marathons over six days, with only one rest day.

The combined distance over the six races is a massive 254km with the longest stage 91km.

Each participant must carry his/her own backpack containing food, sleeping gear and other materials.