CAN you imagine running a marathon each day for a week? Throw in searing 50C heat, and the fact you have to carry a 10kg kit bag all the way, as well as the prospect of running a double marathon mid-way through the week, and you can see why the Marathon Des Sables has earned its reputation as one of the toughest endurance events around.

Which was exactly why fitness junkie Ed Barker-Wyatt wanted to take it on.

The 41-year-old York father of one has just returned from the week-long challenge in the Moroccan Sahara – 4kg lighter and nursing scars from the blisters he developed on the way.

In the process, he has raised £3,000 and rising for Yorkshire charity the Candlelighters Trust that supports children with cancer and their families. Ed, who is a tennis coach at David Lloyd, York, chose the charity in memory of a talented young club player, Oscar Hughes from Dunnington, who died tragically, aged nine, from medulloblastoma, a type of tumour which attacked his brain and spine.

Ed is a veteran of extreme sports events – all of which prepared him for his biggest challenge to date: the Marathon Des Sables, where participants have to complete the 150-mile course in six days, crossing endless sand dunes, climbing rocky jebels, and face white-hot salt plains (not forgetting that gruelling 52-mile stretch in the middle).

Ed has spent the past two years preparing for the challenge. He has completed a number of “ultra marathons” including the 110-mile Hardmoors course along the Cleveland Way, in 35 hours non-stop.

In Yorkshire, Ed tried to replicate as best he could the extreme environment he would face in the North African desert. To acclimatise to the fierce, dry temperatures, he undertook heat training inside a special chamber at Leeds Beckett University. “It was in a heated, insulated room with two treadmills and a huge, industrial fan, which gave you that dry heat. I had my core temperature monitored – out in the desert, you have to keep it under 39C. I also found out how much I was sweating in those conditions, which helped me calculate how much water I had to drink to keep hydrated – half a litre every half hour.”

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Next, Ed turned his attention to coping with running through sand dunes. “I ran in the pool! I bought a pair of surfer shoes for the grip and I went up and down the pool in a slow jog.” This resistance training proved perfect for the arduous slog of running through the Saharan dunes. “As soon as I got into the sand dunes I had that feeling come into my legs and I knew exactly what it was, because I had felt it in the pool.”

Ed used running poles too out in the Sahara – partly to help him cope with a foot injury he developed a few weeks before the race. Luckily, it appeared to settle before the start and he was able to stop it flaring up during the challenge.

Some of the participants weren’t so lucky. Of the 1,200 people who started, some dropped out after the first day. One man had a heart attack, said Ed, while one of his tent-mates twisted his ankle, but ploughed on nevertheless.

So was it as tough as he expected? “Yes, but a different type of toughness. It was the whole experience of the week, as opposed to the toughness of the running. The food, the hygiene, the sleeping conditions were all tough. You started each day half broken. You are tired from not enough sleep and at the end of the day it was like watching a war film, everyone was hobbling around and bandaged up.”

Living arrangements were basic – Ed shared a tent with three lads from Yorkshire. Because people have to carry all they need for the week in their kit bag – and run with that – packing is kept to a minimum. Ed had no change of clothes and wore the same outfit all week. “By the end, everything was stiff like cardboard. Our kit was stinking and everybody smelt pretty bad.”

He had to carry food for a week too, relying on freeze-dried meals and high-calorie snacks. In an effort to minimise the weight of his backpack, Ed limited his food rations to the essentials. “I probably had about 2,500 calories a day, and went to bed hungry.”

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Toilet facilities were basic, and runners were issued with bags in which to dispose of bodily waste. He used baby wipes and anti-bacterial hand gel to maintain hygiene levels. Ed took salt tablets regularly too, a necessity because of the excess sweating.

The hardest time was tackling the 52-miler. Ed did his non-stop, in 23 hours, which meant he had to run across the dunes at nightfall. “I had a head torch on and it was pitch black. There were little lights every half a kilometre or so to show you the way. It was pretty lonely. That was the most challenging point.”

Ed navigated his way using a compass and moving as the crow flies in a straight line, even if it meant going up a hill or sand dune rather than around it. He never lost his way.

He was warned about flesh eating spiders and scorpions and was terrified of the prospect of coming across them. He saw both, and managed to squish them under foot. Another natural phenomenon to contend with were mini tornados that would hit suddenly, ripping through the camp and scattering belongings for miles around. “One struck our tent and I just jumped on top of my kit to protect it. My mate wasn’t there so his stuff was scattered miles around. He spent two hours searching for it all.”

The six-day challenge has left him with a thirst for more adventure. More ultra-marathons are planned, with a view to taking part in the Yukon Arctic Ultra, which involves man-hauling a sled with all his kit over the frozen Canadian river over 100, 300 or 430 miles, exposed to temperatures of -35C and the risk of frostbite.

Meanwhile, he will continue raising money for charity through his extreme endeavours.

He admits to being proud of completing the Marathon Des Sables. “I set out with a specific goal and I have managed to do it. I did the right training to get myself through it and have raised some money for charity.”

What has the week in the desert shown him? “It makes you appreciate the little things in life and it makes you strong in your mind and character. It makes you believe you can pretty much face anything.”

If you would like to donate to Ed’s cause, The Candlelighters Trust, you can do so online at: justgiving.com/fundraising/Ed-Barker-wyatt1