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Blistered feet and boiling temperatures could not stop Bahrain resident Mike McKinlay from raising BD8,000 for The Palm Association by competing in the strenuous Marathon des Sables 2008.
The Marathon des Sables, which takes place in the Sahara Desert in southern Morocco, is considered the toughest foot race on earth and actually says on the welcome pack 'welcome to the world of lunatics and masochists'.
And after completing the trek Mike said: "Some will think that I must have lost my mind attempting to take part in the 2008 Marathon des Sables. I think I was the first competitor from Bahrain."
The race covers 243 kms/151 miles run over six days (seven for some) which is equivalent to five and a half regular marathons. That's a speed of between three and 14kms an hour for competitors aged 16 to 78.
In addition to that, participants have to carry everything they will need for the duration (apart from a tent) on their backs including food, clothes, medical kit, sleeping bag etc. Water is rationed and handed out at each checkpoint.
All challengers have to prepare their own food throughout the race during which they experience mid-day temperatures of up to 120¡F (50¡C) while running or walking on uneven rocky, stony ground and 15 to 20 per cent of the distance is across sand dunes.
The heat, distance and rubbing may cause severe trauma to the feet if incorrect shoes and equipment are used.
Mental stamina probably constitutes at least 50 per cent of whether the competitor will complete the distance or not. Physical fitness is important but don't underestimate the mental stress that a racer will need to endure.
In a particularly challenging section on the fourth day, racers set off across the barren wilderness to complete a 45-50 mile stage. Few manage to complete this before dark and some will not make it to the next check-point till after dark the following night.
As part of his preparation for the challenge Mike, 62, from Saar, spoke to previous participants about the race and read articles on the net.
Mike wanted to run the marathom for two reasons. It was a challenge he set for himself and he also wanted to raise funds for The Palm Association of Bahrain.
Mike and his wife Heather had been posted to Bahrain three times during the past 24 years and wanted to give something back to the people of the kingdom who have been so welcoming.
The Palm Association was identified by Heather as a charity that helps and assists local Bahraini families and individuals and when Heather introduced Mike to the charity he was impressed by its efficiency and the fact that 99 per cent of donations are spent directly on beneficiaries rather than administration.
The couple were also moved by the enthusiasm and professionalism of the organisation's all-female committee which demonstrated a genuine passion to help those less fortunate and make a difference.
Mike said: "You have got to really want to do this. It is not a question of 'I will give it a go' because it lasts too long. You can't wing it unless you are an athlete but even then you would be foolish to tackle the race unless you had done some training. You need to be committed to it.
"Finding a cause helps drive you further and The Palm Association was mine."
Mike added: "I was number 775 in the race and was very anxious and nervous on my first day. I wondered what could have led me to enter such an event for which I had undertaken 2,000 kilometres in training.
"I returned home to Bahrain with many blisters on my feet. I managed to finally slip into my slippers within a week back but that didn't stop me from going to the office."
Mike's training consisted of running around 17.5 kms in the desert between Zarqa, the Zallaq Sailing Club and Jaw. During the six months prior to the race, he had been out in the desert most weekends for anything up to 12 hours a day but nothing prepared him for the seven days of hell he was to encounter.
He said: "I was nervous throughout because I wasn't sure I would even complete the race till the last two days. I think the most difficult was the first day because we were travelling at our heaviest whereas towards the end of the race we had used most of our food so we were lighter.
"Furthermore, we crossed the largest sand dunes in North Africa.
"It was during my most challenging moment, the first day, that I met my three guardian angels - three fellow competitors. One is a school teacher from a well-known public school in Cheltenham, one a postman from the north of England and one a dentist from Ireland.
"I arrived at the end of the first leg on the first day towards the back of the race, looking and feeling very sorry for myself and just about in the nick of time because each leg is timed out. The doctors took a look at me and decided that I needed to take some more salt, drink a lot of water and eat something.
"While the doctors took care of my physical attributes, my mind was at a low ebb. Jim, the school teacher, came across to me and said 'Mike we will take you home'. By that he meant as soon as I was in a condition to get back on my feet they would compete with me and nurse me home effectively. They helped me pull through.
"At the end of the race I felt as if I accomplished something and was relieved. My feet were bound before the first stage of the race to avoid blisters but that was inevitable. When I got back to Bahrain, my wife and Eibhlin Crosse, one of the founding members of The Palm Association, greeted me. All I needed was a good meal and a shower and I was fine.
"My wife invested a lot in this and I thank her for all her support over the years."
Heather was constantly worried about Mike during the entire race as she didn't have much contact with him. She said: "I would stay up half the night waiting for results about the race to see if he made it or not. I was distressed and lost a lot of weight but at the end of it all I was so proud of him."
And The Palm Association could not thank him enough for his bravery and the magnificent sum raised which was handed over this week.
Association chairwoman Nadia Shaheen said: "This was probably one of the most humbling feats that anyone could undertake for The Palm Association.
"When Mike went on the marathon we were very scared. We held our breaths and kept in touch through e-mails. We were anxious to hear how he had done at the end of each day.
"For somebody to risk their life and take such a huge feat as to walk across the Sahara Desert with all his provisions on his back was something that we can hardly put to words.
"It's wonderful when we are given donations by big corporations but it is on a completely different level when someone does it single-handedly.
"He's a hero to us and Mike will forever be in our hall of fame."
And to show their appreciation association members presented Mike with a picture painted as the competitors came over the sand dunes at the end of the race.
