In April 2025 we (Michael aged 29 and Catherine aged 25) will be taking part in the Marathon des Sables, The Legendary 2025.

Known as the ‘toughest foot race on earth’ we will be running 250km across the endless sand dunes and rocky plains of the Sahara Desert. Battling through sandstorms and temperatures exceeding 40°C, we will be running roughly a marathon per day for 7 days, including an 85km ultra marathon mid race.

The race is self sufficient so we will be carrying almost everything needed to survive in the desert including all of our equipment and food… a change of clothes will not be a regular occurrence!

Raising Money

As many of you know, we are part of a family of 7 children and our younger brother Andrew (23 years old) has Down Syndrome and Autism.

Living in the Highlands, services to assist young adults with disabilities and their families are extremely limited. Last year our youngest brother John cycled the length of Africa to raise funds for the Elsie Normington Foundation who were raising money to construct a respite centre in Inverness for children and young adults up to the age of 30 with learning difficulties and complex special needs. With the help of many donations including John’s, the Haven Centre opened in August 2023 and Andrew is now fortunate to enjoy an over night stay there each month. This opportunity encourages his independence and together with the fun it provides for Andrew, it gives our parents a break from the 24/7 care he requires.

The Elsie Normington Foundation continues to develop greater support for  families like ours , increasing social opportunities for young people like our brother.

We are both now deep into our training programme and would love to keep you updated with our progress in the lead up to flying out to the Sahara Desert at the beginning of April.

We will be hugely grateful for any donation and we know the Haven Centre and Andrew will be too.

Thank you, Catherine and Michael Prendergast x