Man to run tough Sahara race for sons' school

A dad-of-three is taking part in an event dubbed "the toughest foot race on earth" to raise money for his sons' school.

Marc Lockwood, a 45-year-old farrier from Effingham in Surrey, will run 156 miles (251km) across the Sahara Desert in Morocco over six days in April.

He will be one of 1,500 runners making the journey, carrying his own supplies and equipment in a backpack.

Marc, who is hoping to raise £10,000 for St Lawrence School in Effingham, where his sons are pupils, said "it was something that had been on my radar for some years".

Marc said he had been running ultra marathons of at least 50km (31 miles) every three weeks since January to get his stamina up, with a friend who will also join him in the desert.

He said: "I've been really lucky, I found a good pair of trainers straight away, I use blister powder and I haven't had one blister.... My friend, his feet are in tatters."

He described the Marathon des Sables as a "self-sufficient" race where you "carry everything you need", including cooking utensils and food.

"It's only going to get lighter as the days go on," he said.

However, he said the heat had been something he had not been able to train for.

The longest section of the race will see Marc cover 62 miles (100km) in 48 hours, with daytime temperatures reaching about 45C (113F), and falling to 0C (32F) at night.

He is also making plans for his next challenge after the Marathon de Sables.

"I think you've got to do a double ironman," he said. "That's on the radar, but I might just see how I get on with this one first!"

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