DARING duo Allan Dowie and Alan Lunn are heading for the desert to raise money for the NSPCC.

 

The two friends have signed up for the Marathon des Sables - the toughest foot race in the world - in April.

It's the second time Allan, from Newton Mearns, has taken part in the Sahara event.

Last time, he got bitten on both hands by a scorpion and had to run in temperatures of almost 50 degrees - but it hasn't put him off.

"I don't think I really did it to my full potential last time," explains the 45-year-old, who is chief financial officer of Clyde Blowers.

"I'm determined to go back and do it better this time."

He adds: "It took some convincing to get Alan to come with me, but he's agreed and we have been training and fundraising for more than a year."

The six-day, 254km ultra marathon across the Sahara desert is not a run for the faint-hearted. With temperatures soaring into the 40s and rough terrain including sand dunes and rocky paths, competitors also have to carry all their food and equipment with them for the duration.

And then, of course, there are the scorpions...

"I got bitten twice by the same scorpion," explains Allan, ruefully.

"I was helping a fellow runner who had been taken to the medical tent and he asked me to get something out of his rucksack.

"As soon as I put my hand in, I felt like a needle had gone straight through it."

He grins: "I was so tired, I wasn't thinking straight, and I put my other hand in, and got bitten for a second time...."

Allan adds: "I was in agony, but all I could think of was - I didn't train all this time and work this hard for a scorpion to stop me from finishing. So I just told the doctors it was fine and after a couple of hours observation, they let me carry on."

Allan and Alan, 45, who is a police training officer from East Kilbride, will be in good company on the run.

"Marines, Olympians and expert ultra marathon runners do this race every year and we have heard Sir Ranulph Fiennes is doing it too," says Allan.

"I doubt I'll keep up with him, but it would be great just to get the chance to run alongside him for five minutes. He's like a real-life James Bond."

Both men have been training hard while juggling the demands of family and work life. But Allan's requirement to travel overseas as part of his job has had unexpected dividends.

"I take my trainers with me everywhere," he smiles. "So I could do warm weather running in Dubai and altitude training in Johannesburg.

"But even the snow and ice in Scotland has helped - it's given us the chance to toughen up our ankles by running on uneven surfaces."

Despite the gruelling task ahead, both men are looking forward to the challenge.

"It's an amazing experience, to run in the Sahara," says Allan..

"It takes a lot of physical fitness, of course, but mental stamina is just as important. There are extreme highs, when you take in just how breathtakingly beautiful the terrain is, and lows, when you have the pain of putting one foot in front of the other.

"You learn a lot about yourself. But you meet amazing people, and get to experience something incredible, all for a brilliant cause."

You can support the desert trekkers by donating via their Just Giving page at www.justgiving.com/MarathonDesSable-AllanDowie-AlanLunn