UPDATE- 6 Apr 22- I would like to thank you so much for your support- your sponsorship is very much appreciated! I am now back from the Sahara and I did it- I completed the challenge! It was the hardest challenge but honestly the best thing I’ve ever done. I ran through sandstorms, climbed the largest dunes I’ve ever seen and my rucksack turned out to be a lot heavier than initially planned! I am going to leave this page open for a little while longer for any further donations for JET. Thank you. 

I’m tackling the Marathon Des Sables, now 25 Mar-4 Apr 22. This is a 250km event made up of c.6 back-to-back marathons across the Sahara desert, in the heat, carrying all my kit (excluding the communal goat’s hair Berber tent and rationed water). I’m 5ft 2 inch tall and I wouldn’t class myself as a serious runner, so it’s going to be one of the hardest challenges I’ve ever faced! What could possibly go wrong? In addition to this, I’ll be wild camping and faced with dangers that come with the desert; snakes, scorpions and spiders...it’s mandatory to run with anti-venom, so I suppose that’s covered! 

Why put yourself through this? Who wouldn’t want to see if they could complete what’s known as one of the hardest footrace on Earth? ‘It’s good to aim high’ are words that have stayed with me since school— stay focused, keep moving towards personal goals and use any set backs on the way  as  a strength, rather than deeming them as failures, with the end goal always in mind. 

‘It’s good to aim high’- this one sentence from school has helped inspire me everyday since and that’s why I believe that it’s so important that young people find the catalyst that inspires and drives them to reach their full potential. Therefore, I’m tackling the MDS for the Jon Egging Trust which makes a real difference to the lives of many young people and helps them to realise their full potential. 

The Jon Egging Trust raises aspirations, confidence and self-esteem, helping young people to re-engage with education and make informed choices about their futures. The Trust offers two youth engagement initiatives: Blue Skies and Inspirational Outreach in conjunction with partners from the worlds of aviation and STEM. 

Equally motivating and inspirational, someone once told me, ‘life is not a rehearsal and you only get one chance at it’, so I ask that you take this opportunity to join me in helping young people facing adversity to achieve their aspirations. 2021 was the Trust’s 10 year anniversary and they have pledged to reach out to support 1 million young people by 2031.

MDS will take me well out of my comfort zone— let the challenge begin. 

Thank you for your support. 

Find out more about the Jon Egging trust here: https://www.joneggingtrust.org.uk/our-work/and the Marathon Des Sables here: https://marathondessables.co.uk