In 2010 I will be participating in what some refer to as the "Toughest Foot Race in the World", the Marathon des Sables, also known as ‘The Marathon of the Sands'. This is a 240km race across the sands of the Sahara desert in Morocco. This is like doing a marathon every day for six days straight, in the 45 degree heat of the desert.

You can follow my training progress by pasting the following address into your web browser -

http://train2gain.biz/My_Sahara_Stroll_2010/home.html [1]

My aim is to raise $100,000 in support of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) in their ongoing quest to find a cure for type 1 diabetes, also known as Juvenile Diabetes or insulin dependent diabetes. This very serious condition affects over 100,000 people in Australia, myself included for the past 34 years. And this is why I use the word "participate" and not "compete". For me, and other people with type 1 diabetes, the idea of competing, with an aim to possibly winning, a race like this is simply out of the question. My aim is just to finish the event within the allowed time of six days.

I have given myself two years to prepare for this magnificent, though arduous, event. In this time I will obviously need to train extensively for my physical fitness. I'll be walking in excess of 100km per week. More importantly, I will need to learn what I have to do so my diabetes doesn't stop me from crossing the finish line. As participants need to carry all their food on their back for the six days, my training will include learning what food to take to survive the time in the stark wilderness.