Adam Ball taking on 156-mile ultra marathon in Sahara Desert to raise £8,000 for Hope for Children

Adam Ball

Adam Ball is running the 156-mile ultra marathon Marathon des Sables across the Sahara Desert to raise £8,000 for Hope for Children in April.

Adam, who grew up in Rochdale, has never taken part in an ultra marathon before (any distance over the traditional 26.2-mile marathon) but says he’s giving it a go because "it’s a challenge, but do-able".

The ultra, billed as ‘The Toughest Race on Earth’, is split into six stages over seven days, which will see competitors cover 156 miles in temperatures of 50 degrees Celsius and up. More than 14,000 participants have entered since its conception in 1986.

The route and distances for each stage vary each year and have a time limit. If runners do not complete a set stage before the time limit, they are eliminated from the race.

Adam will fly to Morocco on 7 April before spending a day on a bus to begin the race on 9 April.

The 27-year-old will have to be completely self-sufficient and carry everything he requires for the race in a backpack weighing around 10kg.

He has been cycling 50 miles a week and completing two-ten mile runs with a six-kilogram backpack per week as part of his training. He has also been reading a lot of books about people’s experiences with the race to gain valuable tips, such as soaking his feet in surgical spirit to harden them in order to prevent blisters.

Adam, who went to Crompton House High School, started running in 2014 because he thought running would be "easy, but it’s not". His first marathon was the Paris Marathon, and he has since completed marathons in both Amsterdam and Rome.

He said: “My first marathon took four hours and thirty minutes. My fastest half is one hour and 38 minutes, so I don’t know what happens to me on the second half of a marathon. The saying ‘a marathon is more than double two half-marathons couldn’t be more true.

“I think I’ll do alright; I think I have the right mindset to do the Marathon des Sables. I’m aiming for 11th place, which would be higher than James Cracknell [the Olympic rower] who came in 12th.

“It is ambitious, but not unachievable; I might surprise myself. I’m excited because it’ll be a good adventure.”

James Cracknell was placed 12th at the 2010 Marathon des Sables, despite suffering a broken bone in his foot, holding the record for a British runner until Danny Kendall, an accountant from London, placed 10th in 2013 and 5th in 2014.

Adam, a mechanical engineer who designs and builds motorbikes, chose Hope for Children as his charity because “children should have every opportunity”.

He added: “This charity gives to those children that don't have what many of us took for granted. It gives education, health, livelihoods and rights to those children that otherwise would have nothing.”

To achieve his £8,000 target, Adam, who now lives in Leamington Spa, has taken on the role of a Deliveroo rider for twelve hours a week, donating every penny of his wage to the charity.

Adam will also be running four half-marathons in March dressed as a Despicable Me minion to raise more towards his £8,000 target.

To donate, visit:

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Adam-Ball4