What is the Marathon Des Sables?

The Marathon des Sables literally translates into The Marathon of the Sands. However, the Marathon des Sables is not a regular 26.2 mile marathon but is in fact a 230km footrace taking 7 days across the Sahara Desert. Each participant must carry their own food, clothing, sleeping gear and other essential equipment, in fact everything you need to survive with the exception of water, which is strictly rationed and tents. Competitors have to traverse rocky and stony ground, endure heat up to 120°F and cross sand dunes 100's feet high. This is why the Marathon des Sables has been called 'The hardest footrace on Earth'.

Who am I?

My name is Matt Hancock. I am a 29yr old firefighter from Warrington in Cheshire. I have been running for around 2 and a half years and to date I have completed; Tough Guy - Nettle Warrior VII 2004, London Marathon 2005, Robin Hood Half Marathon 2005, Chicago Marathon 2005, Paris Marathon 2006, Great Manchester Run 2006, and most recently the New York Marathon 2006. I consider myself to be an average runner and as the date approaches for the Marathon des Sables I am becoming increasingly nervous over the task ahead. This is clearly the biggest physical challenge I have ever set myself and I am well aware that better runners than myself have attempted this race and failed, so wish me luck, I know I'm going to need it!

Why am I running?

I run for many reasons; to challenge myself, to improve my fitness but mainly to raise awareness and money for charities. Through marathon running and other events I have raised money for a school building project in Ghana, Tommys - the baby charity, The Vic Washby Trust Fund, The Pool of Life and The Fire Services National Benevolent Fund. By running the Marathon des Sables I will also be raising funds for Facing Africa to help them in their fight to prevent and cure the disease Noma. Noma is an acute and ravaging gangrenous infection affecting the face. The victims of Noma are mainly young children caught in a vicious circle of extreme poverty and chronic malnutrition. Please take a few minutes to visit their website by following the link at the bottom of this page to see just how valuable their work is and what a difference they could make to thousands of lives in Africa. Please exercise caution when accessing this site as some people may find the images distressing. If this inspires you to sponsor me, as I hope it will, you can do so by visiting my Facing Africa sponsorship page.

Many thanks for your support, myself and thousands of others really appreciate it.

Matt

Links

• www.facingafrica.org - Helping to cure and prevent NOMA
• www.saharamarathon.co.uk - More information about the MdS (you could run it too!)
• www.facingafrica.org - Helping to cure and prevent NOMA (official charity of the MdS in 2003)
• www.darbaroud.com - The organizers of the MdS
• www.bestofmorocco.co.uk - Tailor-made trips to Morocco (marathon not compulsory)