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The Marathon Des Sables

David Beare

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About the Marathon Des Sables

Hi, my name is Dave and in March 2006 I will be competing (along with 2 of my friends) in the 21st Marathon des Sable in an attempt to collectively raise £18,000 for Multiple Sclerosis (MS). This equates to roughly £6,000 each.

The MdS is a 6-day endurance race across the Sahara Desert in Morocco. During the race we will be covering all types of terrain from Sand dunes to Salt lakes & rocky ground. Over this time we have to carry all food, cooking equipment, survival equipment on our back.

I saw the event on Eurosport a few years ago and thought to myself that it would be a great event to do (if admittedly a bit nuts!!) It wasn't until I had an aberration and emailed Steve Pearce, bringing up the idea again, that anything came of it. Following a chat with Steve & Rob we realised we could enter a team.

It is made even better that the guys have let me run for Multiple Sclerosis (MS). This is a cause close to my heart as my dad was diagnosed with the condition in 2004. I am only starting to learn about the disease but want to get pro-active and do something worthwhile to help. This starts with me raising money - if I have to drag myself 230km across the Sahara desert to do it then so be it!!

I am entering the event as a part of a team with Steve Pearce and Robert Treadwell.

I am willing to wear and be photographed in sponsored clothing suitable for running in (ideally light & cotton based). This extends to both warm up races in the UK and Ireland and the race itself. We are trying to get as much exposure for what we are doing as possible. I am anticipating that we are all going to get into our various local papers and I will be asking to write articles for my old school (Bedford School) magazine & website as well as for the BAA and T5 company intranets (T5 alone has 6000 staff).

We are slowly building the training up over the course of 2005. This starts in March with the Compton 40 mile cross-country. After this we have entered The Ridgeway, an 87-mile cross-country. Then at the end of October we are really going to be stepping it up a notch.... We are entering 3 marathons in 3 countries in 3 days. These being Beachy head (England), Snowdonia (Wales) and Dublin (Ireland).

By the time that we get to Morocco I will be running 50 miles a week, this despite the constraints of a full-time job and professional exams.

If you have any queries then don't hesitate to contact us. My email address is davidbeare@t5.co.uk.

Even better, if you would like to sponsor our team then please go to: www.justgiving.com/MdS2006. It is a totally secure website and directly transfers the money to MS on our completion of the event. Hopefully together we can complete the hardest foot race on earth and raise some money for charity in the process.