Triton Scuba boss takes on Sahara challenge
A dive centre owner is planning to take on the world’s toughest endurance race to raise money for charity.
David Jones, Course Director at Triton Scuba in Portsmouth will join 700 other competitors in the Marathon des Sables in Morocco in March 2009.
This annual event is a 151-mile race, on foot, across the Sahara Desert in just six days. David will have to endure temperatures of up to 48ºC, mountainous sand dunes and rough terrain – all while carrying his equipment and food on his back.
David has been training on the south coast beaches, but plans to head to Morocco or Egypt to acclimatise to the temperature. He said: “The main thing is building up the miles and getting used to it. On 6 December I’m doing an eight-mile race across mud and puddles which will not only be quite good fun, but be a bit more taxing.
“One of the sections has a very long stretch over sand dunes where I’ve heard it’s like two steps forward, two steps back. I did some miles on Chesil Beach which is pretty testing, so there is stuff around here to train on.
David is taking part to raise money and awareness for Water Aid, which is committed to overcoming poverty by enabling the world’s poorest people to gain access to safe water and sanitation.“When I was in the military I worked with Gurkhas in Nepal on a gravity-feed water system and I saw first hand what it’s like in villages in a developing country where children walk for two hours to get water rather than go to school, just to survive.
“It’s a personal challenge and something I have wanted to do and everybody thinks I’m completely barking mad. If you think I’m completely barking, why not make it worthwhile and make a donation.”
For more information about the run, and how you can donate, see: www.run-the-sahara.org
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