'Sensible' teacher completes world's toughest race

A 54-year-old teacher who describes herself as a "sensible, recreational runner" has completed what is commonly known as "the toughest footrace on Earth".

Last month, Lesley Malloch from Headington took part in the Marathon des Sables - a 156 mile (250km) race across the Sahara Desert in Morocco.

The epic race is split up over six days of running, and a rest day in the middle, with the longest leg being 62 miles (100km) - which took Lesley 23 hours to complete.

Lesley, who is a PE teacher at Marlborough School in Woodstock, said the race had been "brilliant and brutal in equal measure".

Having crossed the finish line she said: "I've learned that we are capable of far more than we ever imagine."

Despite the gruelling nature of the challenge, she said: "I didn't find it easy, but nothing hurt."

"I didn't have any aches or pains, at each stage there's little bits that hurt, but then I had the rest of the day to recover and went again the next day," she said.

"When I finished I felt absolutely fine."

Whilst training for the race, Lesley adopted some rather inventive tactics - including installing a sauna in her garden to help prepare her for the immense desert heat.

"The peak weeks my training were pretty close to 20 hours, which on top of working was quite hard work," she said.

"Then when I got there and had only been out for five or seven hours with nothing else to do for the rest of the day, that meant that recovery was much easier than during training."

The race started six hours away from the nearest town, which Lesley said meant there was "nothing to do once you finish" for the day.

"It was just a case of taking care of your feet, refuelling and resting for the rest of the day."

On the challenging terrain she encountered during the race, Lesley said: "I didn't realise you could get so many different types of sand."

"It is like running on the beach - so anything uphill on sand I couldn't run, I walked that," she said.

"But running down sand dunes was brilliant - that was like the best part of all of it."

The teacher took on the challenge to raise money for two charities who helped former students of hers - Oxford Hospitals Charity and SeeSaw Grief Support.

"Fundraising £5,600 for two charities that mean so much made every step worthwhile," she said.

"Knowing it will help young people and families through difficult times kept me going."

"This is an experience that will stay with me for the rest of my life."