In just under a month I will be tackling the hardest challenge of my life. And I say that as someone who has run Marathons, climbed mountains, cycled Land’s End to John O’Groats, and completed an Ironman!

Marathon Des Sables is a gruelling 6 day race across the Sahara Desert. Every day you run a Marathon, and one stage is 50 miles long. 

I’m not going to lie, the more I read about it, the less confident I feel. The sand, the heat, the hills, the weight of my rucksack, cooking my own food, carrying all that food, wearing the same clothes for 6 days, no showers, sleeping in bivoaks in the desert ... 

I am going to try my bloody best though, and to help get me round, I would like to raise money for a charity very dear to me. Survivors Manchester is an amazing charity, working with the survivors of sexual abuse and rape. Their tireless work to #breakthesilence surrounding male rape has changed the lives of thousands of men over the last 10 years and I am very proud to be an Ambassador for the charity.

I believe you can follow my progress during the race and send me messages every day - will share the details on Facebook when I have them 💙💙💙