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 I'm running the Marathon des Sables

Last year I was training with 3 friends for the 2007 Marathon Des Sable, a 6 day 150 mile race across the Sahara desert in Morocco carrying all one's own equipment and food. This very sadly had to stop when my father became ill with cancer.

On 26th December 2006 my father died in the Edinburgh hospice of Marie Curie, where he had been looked after so wonderfully for 5 weeks. The kindness of the all at the people at the hospice was virtually beyond words. On 4th January 2007, his funeral was conducted by Reverend Tom Gordon from the hospice.

I am now back and running the 2008 event on my own for a very special cause.

Marie Curie's services, through its hospices, palliative centre and nurses, cost £100 million.

Marie Curie cares for some 25,000 people with cancer every year. Cancer causes 150,000 deaths in Britain every year and one million people are living with the disease at any one time. Marie Curie employs 2,700 nurses, doctors and healthcare personnel.

£160 pays for a full shift for a Marie Curie Nurse in a patient's home.

£400 is the daily cost of caring for an in-patient at a hospice.

I would be so grateful if you could sponsor me for such a fantastic cause: www.justgiving.com/andrewbarrsim

Many thanks indeed.

Links

• www.saharamarathon.co.uk - More information about the MdS (you could run it too!)
• www.darbaroud.com - The organizers of the MdS
• www.bestofmorocco.co.uk - Tailor-made trips to Morocco (marathon not compulsory)