Man becomes oldest Briton to complete Sahara race

Harry Hunter, aged 76 becomes the oldest Brit to run the infamous Marathon Des Sables.

A Berkshire man has become the oldest Briton to run an ultra-marathon in the Sahara Desert.

Harry Hunter, 76, from Windsor ran the Marathon Des Sables to raise money for Alexander Devine Children's Hospice Service.

Known as the Sahara race and held in southern Morocco, the event covers about 160 miles (250km) over seven days - roughly the distance of six marathons.

Mr Hunter said: “It is not worth doing it, if it doesn’t challenge you.”

Mr Hunter said it was tough and great fun

Mr Hunter told the BBC he ran 19 miles (31km) on the first day, 25 miles (41km) on the second and 52 miles (85km) on the third, before a rest.

He ran the remainder of the event across three days.

“The toughest part I think was the long day, the 85km day – that was pretty brutal,” he said.

He added: “There were people who dropped out along the way, through injuries and for medical reasons.”

Mr Hunter said "I never doubted I could finish"

On day two of the race, Mr Hunter had his birthday and turned 76 - making him the oldest man to run the race.

“I had over 800 people singing happy birthday to me on the start line, it was very emotional,” he said.

Mr Hunter did sauna training before the event to prepare him for the heat of the Sahara.

“It was very hot, it progressed through the day and through the sand dunes it was very hot, into 50-degree heat,” he said.

He continued: “I’ve done a number of these races and it was hard and at times you are pretty exhausted but I knew I would finish.

“It was a great experience - tough, very tough, which I expected."