Marathon des Sables 2010

This year, James Ferguson took part in the Marathon des Sables to raise money for AICR. This is what he had to say about his massive challenge:

"The 2010 (25th) Marathon Des Sables (MDS) took place from Sunday 4 April until Saturday 10 April 2010, with the UK contingent flying out on Thursday 1 April and returning on Monday 12 April 2010. The race was a 6 stage, 250 km (155 miles) ultra marathon through the Sahara Desert, which required runners to be self-sufficient for the 7 days. The longest stage was 82 km (51 miles) and involved competitors running through the night. The event is known as The Toughest Footrace On Earth due to the conditions and the event’s extreme nature. I managed to finish the race and came 379th out of 1 013 starters. Highlights of the event have been broadcast on British Eurosport TV and there will also be a two-part programme on the Discovery Channel during the summer documenting James Cracknell’s experiences of the 2010 race.

I raised money for the Association For International Cancer Research (AICR) in conjunction with the race and am very grateful to everyone who donated money to the charity. All money donated (after online transaction fees) was forwarded to the charity within a week and will stay with the charity. All donations were appreciated by the charity and I am confident that the money raised will be spent wisely and will make a difference to present and future cancer sufferers. As cancer is such an extensive illness, which cannot be treated effectively at present, continued worldwide research into this disease is vital. I had personal reasons for raising money for a cancer charity so would again like to thank those who made contributions.

To date, £1,981 has been raised (including Gift Aid supplements) for the AICR. As Virgin Money Giving will automatically close my fundraising page three months after the start of the race, online donations will no longer be able to be made after 4 July 2010. I intend to stop collecting donations made by cheque after this date as well.

Donations can still be made to AICR through James's Virgin Money Giving fundraising page or through the AICR website.

You can read all about James's amazing effort on his website. He has an event diary, photos and videos from the race.  

We would like to give James's a massive thank you for taking part on our behalf and raising a fantastic amount of money.