After a sunny send-off at Herne Hill Velodrome, with our first-ever mass start, just under 100 racers sprinted from the line and boarded a mix of Eurostars and busses to Paris. Off the startline, some entrants even darted off on strategically hidden rental bikes to gain an edge.
Racers found out their mystery checkpoints right at the start line, which meant they had to plan on the fly. They also chose between three very different routes: one following the Camino de Santiago, another taking on the mountains through the Alps and Pyrenees, and a third route hopping through the Balearic Islands.
All routes converged in Valencia before racers pushed on south towards Morocco.
This year, we introduced some fun daily challenges to add a new twist to the race. We had a quick win on the first day: find a bus with a route number over 200. This favoured racers who chose coaches to France, including returning teams Lucy and Kirsten, who claimed the early victory.
Once on the continent, some early country-counters took quick detours in a loop around Liege, Aachen and Maastricht, a strategy gaining popularity again this year to hoover up some early points.
In to the night of Day 1, it looked like the Island Hoppers had the early lead after fast journeys to Toulon and on towards Barcelona, looking to catch the fast ferries to Palma. Meanwhile, Dave C and Fernando P (last year’s second-place finisher) took the lead on the mountain route. They were on track to overtake the Island Hoppers, but a ghost bus and a missed connection derailed their plan.
As the Island teams returned from Mallorca into Valencia, a front pack of seven formed, pushing toward the ferries across the Strait of Gibraltar. Most took the route via Algeciras, crossing to Tangier Ville from Tarifa, which appears to be the favoured option over the longer crossing to Tangier Med.
That pack mostly stayed together through Tangier and on to Casablanca by train, though they lost one racer while connecting south to Marrakesh.
Then came the final dash. The last checkpoint was at Chez Lamine Hadj Mustapha in Marrakesh before the race to the pop-up finish line in Tinsmiths Square. Our finish team was ready for a 2:30 AM arrival when footsteps echoed in the distance.
Tim and Benjamin from Belgium came sprinting in. They looked set to win but realised they had missed the final checkpoint. Without hesitation, they turned and ran off into the night.
Just minutes later, Sam S., in her third race after placing ninth last year, came storming in to take the win.
As the rest of the week progressed, many racers made the most of The Layover social stop in Valencia, hosted by event sponsors Jack’s Flight Club. The travel-themed pub quiz proved especially popular, with plenty of teams getting involved and enjoying a well-earned break from the race.
Points Category
Towards the tail end of the week, the points category (for countries visited and bonus points for islands, enclaves and the like) heated up to a level not seen in any of our previous races. Normally, just a handful of racers seriously target this category, but this year nearly a dozen competitors were in the mix, with constant back-and-forth between returning 2023 points champion and 2024 fastest finisher Alex L., and newcomers Nina and Team JetSet.
Some high-risk detours were taken, including trips to Malmö in Sweden, loops through Central Europe, and even a Vatican dash, as teams pushed to scoop up as many points as possible. At one stage, we weren’t sure they’d make the cut-off, but after all three teams swung through Ceuta on the home straight, the leaderboard was sealed: Alex L on 23 points, Nina close behind with 22, and JetSet just behind on 21. A whole cluster of teams finished just behind them on 20, rounding off an incredible battle for the top.
Lowest spend
In the Lowest Spend category, Kirsten and Lucy, on their third race, took home the win (as well as the People’s Choice Award public vote presented by FlixBus, earning two free return FlixBus/Train tickets). They completed the journey via the Island Hopper route, spending just £216.47 on long-distance travel per person during the race.
A huge shout out to runner-up Joe F, who made it to the end for a transport spend of £223.62. An incredible result for a first-time entry, who notably made a detour after the start to catch AFC Wimbledon beating Notts County to secure their spot at Wembley! Chapeau!
Huge efforts all around!
Route Performance Summary for The Marrakesh Express 2025
Based on available finish line data, approximately 44% of entrants took the Pilgrims Picnic route, around 35% chose the Mountain Goat, and about 24% selected the Island Hopper. The fastest overall finish was on the Island Hopper route, with the winner Sam completing it in 2 days, 16 hours, and 34 minutes. The fastest Mountain Goat finisher, Fernando, completed his route in 3 days, 1 hour, and 32 minutes. While the Pilgrims Picnic was the most popular route and produced strong finish times (4 days, 4 hours, and 49 minutes), the Island Hopper offered the quickest path for the winner.
