Lahcen Ahansal

Lahcen Ahansal is a Moroccan long-distance runner, born on 1 January 1971 in Jbel Bani, a village about 25 km from Zagora, and a member of the Berber Aït Atta confederation of southern Morocco. He is considered a specialist of the Marathon des Sables, which he has won ten times: in 1997 and then in nine consecutive years from 1999 to 2007, which earned him the nickname Prince of the Desert. He had finished second in 1991 after letting a registered runner cross the line first, and his younger brother Mohamad won the race in 2008. Beyond the desert race he won the Swiss Alpine Marathon in 2001, the Belgium Ultra Marathon over 100 km in 2006 and the Al Andalus Ultimate Trail in 2010, and he organizes races such as the Zagora Marathon and treks in southern Morocco.