Welcome!

Hi, I’m Ben Simmister and in 2007, I embarked on one of the toughest challenges of Earth, the Marathon Des Sables an ultra marathon of over 150 miles through the South Saharan Desert in temperatures of up to 50 degrees centigrade.

A limited number of runners are allocated a place in the Marathon des Sables each year and 2007 iwas my 'lucky' year.  As one of only 750 global competitors, (c250 from the UK), I competed at the highest levels of physical and mental endurance, with some of the fittest people on Earth.

As well as physical fitness, I needed to pull on all of my mental strength to see me through the 6 days of this grueling challenge.

Sponsorship and charity were the main beneficiaries of this race and Marie Curie Cancer Care was my chosen charity.  You can  find out more about Marie Curie Cancer Care here.

Find out more about me and why I took part here.