LIVING in the suburbs of Swindon may not be the ideal way to prepare for running in temperatures of 40°C in the Kalahari Desert but the resourceful Nathan Montague found a way, writes KEVIN FAHEY.

The Swindon Harrier knew he had to soften the physical shock of running at home, despite the mild autumn, before he flew out to South Africa this week ahead of the iconic six-day Kalahari Augrabies Extreme Marathon.

So he effectively turned his home in The Parks area of the town into a veritable hot-house - and is hoping that will help him turn the heat up on his rivals when the real racing begins.

“Basically I created a heat room in my own home,” said Montague.

“I set up some portable heaters in the conservatory-come-play room and put in a treadmill. I got the temperature up to around 40°C and it felt very oppressive because there was no air circulating in there at all.

“My longest run on the treadmill was around 90 minutes at a comfortable pace but to increase the sweat-rate even more in order to get used to the heat in Africa I wore a long-sleeved top and jacket plus gloves and a hat.

“It was certainly hot and hard work!”

Montague’s main priority now will be to get to the start line today because the nightmare of his last major event is only too fresh.

That was the prestigious ultra Trail Mount-Blanc (UTMB) event in the French Alps at the end of August and Montague was forced to withdraw on the eve of the race after falling heavily during a training run. He suffered a deep cut to his knee down to the bone and had to receive 12 internal and external stitches.

“My daughter has already said to me that I shouldn’t go out running the day before the Kalahari race just in case,” added Montague.

“I’ll have to be extra careful but while I was gutted at the time and had to take 19 days of complete rest, that enforced break has really rejuvenated me and my motivation and enthusiasm levels are very strong now.

“I am really happy with how I have trained and prepared for the race and I am very excited about getting out there now because it is such an iconic event for ultra runners.

“The first aim has to be to finish the event, which is 252km long and the second aim is to be competitive and race each day rather than just get to the finish line. If I can do that then we will see what happens.”