A RACE across the Sahara Desert became “a game of survival” for a former member of the armed forces as he took on a gruelling 270km challenge.
Eric Burnett, 65, spent six days running across the sand, sleeping in a tent with six other competitors and carrying all of his food on his back, yet it was his feet that proved to be his downfall.
Beginning his travels from his home in Longniddry to Morocco on Wednesday, Eric found himself waiting for a bus to the start line with about 1,500 other runners looking to take on the 40th edition of the infamous Marathon Des Sables.
The annual race sees them take on 270km across the week in temperatures of up to 40 degrees Celsius.
Eric previously spent 25 serving with the armed forces, mostly as a Gordon Highlander, and now works as a postal worker in Portobello.
Following equipment checks and a lookover from the health team, then an evening briefing – in both English and French – Eric was deemed fit to run and began his journey on Monday morning.
His months of intensive training paid off, as well as sessions spent in the sauna to acclimatise to the conditions, as while some runners were affected badly by the heat, Eric found it bearable.
He had troubles with his feet, however, which were “absolutely wrecked”, not noticing that there was a problem until “quite a bit of damage” had been done.
Eric said: “My intention was to run a bit more and walk a bit faster but that was clearly not going to happen.
“Just walking was awkward. That made it quite an upward journey.”
His religious repacking of his bag ahead of the journey, panicking slightly about what he might need when out in the desert, also proved to be worthwhile.
The distance ranged from 23km for the shortest stage on day six up to 100km for the longest section of the journey - increased by about 20km compared to normal editions of the event to 'celebrate' the anniversary.
Runners were grouped into tents and Eric shared with six others, who "built up a bit of camaraderie" throughout the week and made their plans together once they made it to base each evening, setting off at the same time in the morning.
Eric said: "It took quite a lot of determination just to keep going. I was shouting at myself and grunting at myself.
"Thinking of my family and thinking of the charities really helped me just put one foot in front of the other and get to that finish line."
Eric's efforts fundraised for four causes: The Gordon Highlanders Museum, following a 25 year career in the armed forces; Longniddry Villa Football Club, where he coached for a number of years; the NHS, which saved his life on several occasions; and Forth Valley Chorus, his wife Allyson having been a member for more than 20 years.
He originally set a target of £4,000 but he passed this quickly and was "overwhelmed" to have raised £10,000 which will be divided between the charities.
Eric crossed the finish line on Saturday and now has his medal pride of place in commemoration of the training and 270km journey to earn it.
Returning to East Lothian on Monday for the start of his recovery, which so far has involved a lot of lounging on the couch, one of his first stops was to the doctor's office to assess the sorry state of his feet.