Cambridgeshire dad completes race across Sahara for charity

Sandstorms, mountainous dunes, soaring heat, and plummeting night temperatures were all part of the gruelling Marathon des Sables, which took place in Morocco earlier this month.

But despite everything, and faced with painful blisters on both feet, 63-year-old Jon managed to complete the race, which involved running seven marathons in seven days across the Sahara Desert.

Speaking after arriving back in Little Thetford, Jon said he is recovering well, and the aches and pains are becoming a distant memory.

So much so that he is already thinking what ultra challenge he will tackle in 2027 - but don't tell his wife Berni, as he has not raised the idea with her yet.

"I am absolutely delighted to have completed the race; it was really tough. The sandstorms were quite relentless and made everything even harder," said Jon, who undertook the race to raise funds for the mental health charity MIND.

The cause is one close to Jon's heart, not only does he have his own mental health challenges, but he was running in memory of two men who took their own lives and was raising money not only for MIND but also for a similar charity in America.

Berni was able to track Jon's progress live as he ran in memory of Steve Drake, a family member who took his own life earlier this year and also for Michael Langlade, the son of a friend who lives in the UK.

Jon Singleton took on the gruelling Marathon des Sables in Morocco recently. (Image: Jon Singleton)

Jon set up JustGiving pages for both men and has so far raised £3,330 in Steve's memory and $5,415 for NAMI in Michael's memory.

Jon said the sandstorms would hit at any time, even on the last day, he and his fellow runners faced a massive storm with winds he said were so strong they almost blew him back down sand dunes.

He was in a team of six, and Jon said they were all so supportive of each other, supporting one another to carry on when the going got tough.

"The camaraderie was amazing. I was one of the oldest in the race at 63, and in my team, the next oldest was 31, but it was just great that everyone was helping each other," said Jon.

Jon Singleton took on the gruelling Marathon des Sables in Morocco recently. (Image: Jon Singleton)

"It was nice to have a feeling of humanity in these troubling times."

Jon does like an extreme challenge, and his most recent Sahara experience was not his first. He had already completed one desert marathon, and he had also completed a number of other ultramarathons, however the Marathon des Sables was the biggest one to date.

Now the dust has settled, the blisters, which Jon said were inevitable running in sand over such a long distance, have almost healed, and he is considering undertaking the John O'Groats to Lands End challenge, completing it in marathon-sized stages - which would be 30 marathons over consecutive days.

Jon Singleton from Little Thetford has taken on one of the world's toughest foot races across the Sahara Desert. (Image: Jon Singleton)

"I want to keep the challenges heavy-duty to help encourage people to sponsor me, and I would be doing it again for MIND as it is such a great charity, but I haven't told Berni or the family yet, so we will have to see what happens."