“We went out of the house a little farther away from the village and then we would change and dig in the sand and hide the djellabas there,” he said. “We’d run and come back so that no one saw, because they thought it wasn’t good to run like that.”

The Marathon des Sables was created by a former concert promoter, Patrick Bauer of France. It requires self-sufficiency in one of the most challenging places on earth at a cost of almost $5,000, including travel and fees. Without sponsorship, neither Ahansal nor Morabity would be training or running the race. Ahansal and Morabity work in one of the largest industries in Zagora — tourism. Morabity said there are younger and faster runners in their hometown who cannot afford to enter competitions. Ahansal works with some of these runners to develop the quickness they need to compete in races of varying topography and distance. He emphasizes that runners’ mileage should gradually increase, as opposed to going straight to ultramarathons.

Last year, Morabity wore a pair of Ahansal’s shoes and his backpack during the race. When Mohamad and Lahcen first started racing, they would receive running shoes from friends, the same shoes that were passed down to the man who would interrupt the Ahansal reign.

“You can’t just take everything for yourself,” Ahansal said in German, one of the languages he learned from tourists on his treks to the Atlas Mountains and the Sahara. “Alone, nothing is accomplished.”

Sportsmanship defines these racers. They recognize a “sport spirit” that mixes competitive drive with a humility not typically associated with professional athletes. During the longest day of last year’s race, Mohamad Ahansal started having problems in the 40th mile. He encouraged Morabity to pick up the pace and overtake Jordanian Salameh Al Aqra, who later finished third.

“I said to Rachid, ‘Now you must win, because now either I’ll manage it or I won’t,’ ” Ahansal said.