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This ultramarathon is held over six days and covers a distance of 251km or 156 miles in six stages; it is roughly equivalent to six “regular” marathons and is open to runners and walkers.   The longest single stage is 91km or  57 miles and it takes place in the heat of the Sahara Desert in southern Morocco, where temperatures can reach up to 50 degrees centigrade, over sand, dry valleys, hills, rocks and sand dunes.  Entrants  must be self-sufficient and carry everything they need from food and water to spare clothes for the whole event in their backpacks; they sleep in open-sided tents and quickly become used to being covered in dust and sand.  Matthew completed this year’s Marathon des Sables and raised £2150 for Secondary1st.