DAD and business owner Mark Innes has conquered the world’s toughest running race, completing a brutal 252-kilometre challenge across the Sahara Desert.
Mark raised £25,600 for Edinburgh Children’s Hospital Charity in the process and presented them with the cheque during a visit last week.
The Marathon des Sables, which hosted its 38th edition earlier this year, is cited as the world's toughest running event due to the extreme conditions, with participants taking on 252 kilometres across six days and an average temperature of 30 degrees, sometimes clocking in above 50 degrees.
Mark, who is from Tranent and now lives in Musselburgh, said: “I was watching a TV documentary about the Marathon des Sables with my wife and I said: ‘I’m going to do that.’
“She was laughing!
“I looked into it, set a plan and got a running coach.
“I’d run before but I didn’t even like it. So to take on a challenge like this was bizarre and out of the blue.”
Mark spent a year training and fundraising for the event in April, which involved 10 days alone in the desert and required the runners to be entirely self-sufficient.
They carried all necessities, including their own food, medical equipment and sleeping bag, with the weight of the bag adding to the challenge.
The race itself takes place over six days of running, with the longest day clocking in at 85.3 kilometres – more than two marathons.
Mark found that having no contact with the outside world posed an additional challenge.
He said: “We flew into a small remote airport in the middle of the Sahara desert in Morocco and, as we were flying in, there was not a single thing to look at - there was just sand everywhere.
“We never passed so much as a bird.”
The first two days of the run went without significant trouble for Mark, running 31km and 40km consecutively.
However, on the third day, he struggled with the high temperatures.
Mark said: “I got heat exhaustion 43 kilometres into it. The medics wanted to withdraw me from the race because of the condition I was in.
“But I fought against it. I had about three and a half hours left until the checkpoint closed, so I went back to close my eyes and rest.
“I woke up two and a half hours later and felt fine. I had some water and food, and then set off again.
“But then as soon as I got back into the sun, it scunnered me again, so I went back to the checkpoint.
“I was still within the time limits, so I finished the race in the night.
“So I had two options - I was either medically withdrawn by trying to continue or just used the generous time limits in order to be able to complete the race.
“It was very gruelling.”
The final three days involved runs of 43km, 31km and 21km.
Mark successfully completed the full 252 kilometres in 53 hours, 12 minutes and 51 seconds.
Out of 867 participants who started the race, 807 finished the 2024 Marathon des Sables.
Mark explained that the camaraderie between runners was a big part of what got him through the more difficult miles.
He said: “You’re all looking out for each other - you just totally bonded with people because you’re kind of fighting for your life with these tent-mates you just randomly met.
“It was really humbling, eye-opening - it was just incredible.”
Mark raised £25,600 for Edinburgh Children’s Hospital Charity, which he visited last week to present with the cheque.
A dad to two sons, Mark decided to raise funds for the charity due to its work in supporting families who are facing difficult times.
Kerry Thomson, Mass Participation Manager at Edinburgh Children’s Hospital Charity, said: “We are absolutely in awe of what Mark has achieved: running six marathons in six days, pushing through sandstorms, such intense heat, and raising £25,600 for seriously ill children while doing it – it’s just phenomenal!
“ECHC works tirelessly all year round to provide young patients and their families at the children’s hospital with the extra support they need when facing a life-changing visit, but we can currently only reach 1 in 10 children who come through the doors.
"Mark’s incredible fundraising helps us to get one step closer to reaching every child who needs us. We are enormously grateful to him for his strong legs, and even stronger heart.”
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And he has not finished his challenges just yet, with an Ironman event next on his bucket list.
To add to his packed training schedule, Mark also started The Tartan Timber Co. this year, based west of Haddington.
He said: “Between starting a business, having two young kids and a wife, and training for the hardest race on earth, it was pretty difficult to say the least.
“I’ll probably start training for the Ironman in the winter, once I’ve enjoyed a summer with the kids.”
Despite the brutal conditions of the race, Mark looks back on the experience with positive memories and said he wants to do it again in the future.
He concluded: “Relentless, unforgiving but beautiful - it was the best thing I’ve ever done.”
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