About the Marathon Des Sables

The Marathon des Sables (MdS) is a 6 day / 230km endurance race across the Sahara Desert in Morocco, normally taking place at the end of March / beginning of April.

During this time the competitors (myself included!) have to carry all food, cooking equipment, survival equipment, etc over ground ranging from sand dunes to uneven rocky ground in temperatures upto 120°F.

Why am I running the Marathon des Sables

Its long been my aspiration to push myself to the limit, to go that one step further. Why you may ask?..well for me there are many ways to live your life. Every day there are people in the world doing amazing things to help other people, other anaimals and the environment around us, while others just get on with life. I want to be amongst the former. I dont want to have any regrets, I want to make every day worthwhile and I believe that given enough effort, anything is truly possible.

About two years ago I was visitng my brother when a friend of his asked if I would be interested in running the MDS. At first I laughed..'That's for crazy people' I said.. but then I thought hey why not? I had been cruising through life on autopilot for a while, disillusioned at having finished university with the only prospect of 40 years of work! Now Im not anti-work; far form it as my friends will testify. However I needed some additional inspiration and the MDS offered that. I could participate in the 'toughest foot race on Earth' while raising money for charity. There are many charities I want to raise money for.. Multiple Sclerosis had affected my grandfather while cancer had taken my grandmother and in recent years more and more people I know or knew. However, on my travels through Africa I saw the true impact of poverty in its many guises and given the nature of the MDS I decided to support Facing Africa, NOMA.

Noma occurs in young children who are malnourished and debilitated by diseases like measels and malaria. It is a gangrenous infection of the face and leaves its victimes severely disfigured. It is estimated that without treatment in its early stages, 90% of the victimes die, a horrendous statistic given that it is essentially preventable if treated early on. Facing Africa works with the only dedicated noma hospitable in the world, the Noma Children's Hospital Sokotoin in Northern Nigeria where they send teams of medics to help the children re-build there lives. It costs around £40000 to send a team of 4 people to help 50 patients, which translates into roughly £800 per patient. If you want to find out more about the charity please follow the link at the bottom of this page.

MY GOAL IS TO RAISE £2500 FOR FACING AFRICA AND I HOPE YOU WILL FEEL GENEROUS ENOUGH TO SUPPORT ME IN THIS CAUSE. AFTER ALL IT IS 151 MILES THROUGH THE SAHARA DESERT!

I will complete the 243km/151 miles (in sections similar to 25, 34, 38, 82, 42, 22 km) over 6 days (7 for some), which is equivalent to 5 1/2 regular marathons! In addition, I will have to carry everything I will need for the duration (apart from a tent) on my back in a rucksack (food, clothes, medical kit, sleeping bag etc) and water is rationed and handed out at each checkpoint. I have to prepare all my own food throughout the race and experience mid-day temperatures of up to 120°F, of running or walking on uneven rocky, stony ground as well as 15 - 20% of the distance being in sand dunes. IT REALLY IS NO EASY TASK!

Most people gasp when I tell them this (my mother nearly fainted!!), however if you feel that its a worthy cause, I would appreciate any contribution you can offer. A totally secure link to Facing Africa is provided below from where you can make online donations. WHEN MAKING A DONATION PLEASE DONT FORGET TO INDICATE MY NAME IN THE DESIGNATED BOX OTHERIWSE I WILL NOT BE CREDITED WITH IT. Any donation, small or large, is very much appreciated and will go a long way towards my target of £2500.

I will keep you posted on how my training is going (be it a high or low!) and if you want to contact me for any reason please to so on 07740619369.

Thankyou all for your kind support.

James Saxton

Links

• www.saharamarathon.co.uk - More information about the MdS (you could run it too!)
• www.facingafrica.org - Helping to cure and prevent NOMA
• FACING AFRICA: DIRECT LINK TO ONLINE DONATIONS - Helping to cure and prevent NOMA
• www.darbaroud.com - The organizers of the MdS
• www.bestofmorocco.co.uk - Tailor-made trips to Morocco (marathon not compulsory)