In July 2005, Six servicemen (RAF Policemen) and a member of the British Forces Broadcasting Service (BFBS), currently serving in , registered as competitors for the 2007 Marathon Des Sables.

This arduous event known as “the toughest footrace in the world” takes place in the Sahara desert over a seven day period, during which participants cover a distance of 151 miles on foot, in temperatures reaching 50 C (120F). In addition all entrants must be totally self reliant, carrying all their food, water, medical needs and sleeping bag for the duration of the race. The race itself; which is equivalent to a marathon a day, is in fact broken into various stages, the most extreme of which is a distance of 50 miles in a 24 hrs period.

Spokesperson for the group, Sgt Tate stated “I appreciate you may be thinking that British Servicemen would not find this endeavour too taxing. However the area that we will be covering is one of the most inhospitable on earth, we will be relying on training, willpower and camaraderie to see us through”. During each of the stages the participants will have to cope with a multitude of uneven surfaces comprising of rocky slopes, shale and dunes, some of which are 200 metres high.

The reasons for this endeavour are numerous, the challenge, the sense of achievement, however firstly and most importantly it is to raise the profile and, through sponsorship, the funds, of several charities. The main recipient being the Soldiers Sailors Airmen and Families Association, (SSAFA Forces Help). As you will no doubt be aware, this national charity is of particular importance in the service environment in that it provides a much needed support network for forces families, helping serving and ex-servicemen/women and their families in need. To this end the appeal has been christened as ‘The SSAFA Sands of Time Appeal’.

The seven have formed a dedicated website ‘thesaharaseven.saharamathon.co.uk’ in order to advertise their participation and the various sponsorship events they will be undertaking in order to raise funds, such as a Sports auction, Film memorabilia Auction, sponsorship of almost every upcoming sporting event from the Paphos Marathon to the London Marathon.

If you are willing to support this worthy cause then please get in touch via e-mail ssafamds2007@hotmail.co.uk. The team is actively seeking sponsorship, either by a monetary donation or by the donation of equipment, to that end if any businesses want to publicise themselves to the forces community then please get in touch.

What ever you can give, even a little, is a little more than we have now’

Thank you for visiting our Fundraising page. Please dig deep and sponsor us online.

Many thanks for your support.

'The Sahara Seven'

The following are beneficiaries of the Appeal :

SSAFA Forces Help  -  90%

The British Wireless for the Blind Appeal  -  3%

- Reg Charity 1078287

St Luke's Hospice, Kenton Grange  -  3%

- Reg Charity 298555

Haematology Unit, Sandwell Hospital, West Bromwich  -  3%

The Provost Marshals' Benevolent Fund  -  1%