A DAUNTING test of fitness and endurance awaits a postal worker next week as he looks to take on a race commonly dubbed the world’s hardest ultramarathon.
Eric Burnett will travel to Morocco this weekend for the event, which will see him run 270 kilometres across the Sahara Desert almost entirely self-supported, carrying everything he needs for six days in the sand.
He has been “intrigued” by the Marathon Des Sables for several years, thinking it would be “the ultimate challenge”.
Eric, 65, said: “If I don’t do this now, I’m going to regret this for the rest of my life, so I thought: let’s go for it.”
This year is the 40th edition of the race, which Eric explained made it “extra special”, and the organisers of the race had something in store to mark the anniversary: an additional 20 kilometres added to the total.
Living in Longniddry for more than 20 years with wife Allyson, Eric previously spent 25 serving with the armed forces, mostly as a Gordon Highlander, and now works as a postal worker in Portobello.
His main sport was always football but, with his legs "not up to it anymore" and finding himself “wrecked” after a game, he gravitated towards running and endurance events.
His training for the Marathon Des Sables has been successful, completing local races while upping his mileage over the past six months and working through a rigorous programme prescribed by a coach while managing to stay injury free, this being his main worry throughout.
At the end of his training plan, the focus shifted from high mileage runs to heat acclimation; one of the most brutal parts of the run is that the temperature can reach above 50 degrees Celsius.
He has spent time in saunas to get his body used to the temperatures which the runners will be facing.
The milage and the heat are the main things on his mind going into the final days before the race, but the logistics have also proven tricky, with the event entirely self-supported, meaning runners must carry their food and equipment, which Eric has re-packed several times over.
He hopes that when the going gets tough, as it doubtless will throughout the 270k, thought of the charities he is running for will help to get him over the line and said: “I feel a wee bit of pressure now! So that’s done the trick, I think.”
Eric is fundraising for four causes: The Gordon Highlanders Museum, which he said he “owes a great deal” for his “fantastic career and many happy memories"; 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 having been a members for more than 20 years.
He originally set a target of £4,000 to be divided between the four causes, but he quickly surpassed this and has now more than doubled the goal.
Eric's fundraiser can be found at gofund.me/cc07d9f52
His journey to the start line is several days long, as he travels from Glasgow and goes through admin checks before the runners set off early on Sunday morning.
The race finishes six days later next Saturday (April 11) and recovery will begin when Eric returns to Scotland next Monday (April 13).
Ahead of making his way to Morocco, he said: “I’m looking forward to it now. quite apprehensive about the thing, but definitely keen to get going and get started.
“How long that will last once I’m out there… we’ll see!”