A BISHOPSTONE man has just completed one of the toughest challenges in the world in memory of his baby twin daughters who died soon after birth.

Adrian May has run marathons across the wastes of the Sahara desert during the Marathon Des Sables (Marathon of the Sands) alongside 1,000 other hardy souls.

He was raising money and awareness for the Hope For Children charity, that focusses on the plight of street children.

He said: “When I first did the challenge in 2012, I was totally out of my comfort zone. You don’t know your course until the day you arrive. They plonk you in a tent, which is really just a piece of cloth draped over you, with eight people in each, and you are expected to be self sufficient for a week.”

It is not called one of the toughest challenges in the world for nothing, as the course begins on day one with a 30 kilometre run, carrying a full back-pack of everything needed to survive. It weighs around nine and a half to 10 kilos and contestants run in temperatures of up to 56 degrees. Over the week the runners cover about 230km.

“We did the first three days through sand dunes and all sorts of terrain and we were awoken each day by the rousing track, Highway to Hell, being blasted out of the speakers,” said Adrian.

“When we returned each night we had to make a fire to cook some food and, although water is provided, it was rationed. We had nine litres a day for washing, cooking and drinking.’’

On the fourth day Adrian tackled a double marathon of 86 kilometres and, on the fifth, which was supposed to be a day’s rest, most of the contestants were still straggling home.

“The mind plays games in the dark and I could see things that weren’t there, cities in the sand.

“Once home we were given an ice cold cola as a treat. I saw grown men cuddling their cans and crying,’’ said Adrian.

One thing that helped Adrian get through was listening to a recording of his teenage son Tom.

“The combination of his singing, the incredible desolate and beautiful environment and my own state of mind made this a very emotional time,’’ he said.

The sixth day was the final marathon and the last stage where all the contestants wear bright yellow shirts with the logo of the Marathon Des Sables’s charity Solidarity.

“We all walked out of the Sahara, 1,000 of us together, transformed out of the desert, metapmorphised from dark places,’’ said Adrian

The former Castrol Oil worker decided to take up the challenges following the death of his daughters Imogen and Olivia who died in 1998.

“I wanted to do something in their memory, so I did half marathon, marathons and then the London Marathon before I came across the Des Sables,’’ he said.

Adrian is supported in all his endeavours by his wife Gill and his 17-year-old son Tom.

This year Swindon’s Kentwood Show Choir have also decided to adopt Hope For Children, as their chosen cause. There will be collections at the spring concert on Saturday, May 20 at the Wyvern Theatre from 7.30pm. Tickets are available from 01793 524481.

Adrian has already raised £10,000 from this year’s project and about £70,000 in total over the last few years.

Anyone who would like to donate to Hope For Children should visit: http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/AdrianMay

Hope for Children

  • Focus: Children living on the streets
  • Aim: To enable vulnerable children to experience a positive childhood by improving their access to education and healthcare whilst empowering their families to support themselves.
  • Aid: Started 25 years ago and last year helped more than 37,000 children.
  • Projects in: Ghana, India, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Uganda, Africa, Asia and the UK.

http://hope-for-children.org/