Simon Edgar, Mark Gardner and Jarlath O'Hara entered the gruelling Marathon des Sables to raise money and awareness for CRY

The fundraising effort for CRY was a joint undertaking. All three worked tirelessly fundraising for CRY and completed the 2011 Marathon des Sables finishing as follows;

Jarlath O’Hara (London) - 109^th overall (out of 850) and 1^st Irish
Mark Gardner (Derby) - 81^st and 9^th Briton
Simon Edgar (Leeds) - 143^rd overall and 19^th Briton

The event is equivalent to 5½ regular marathons, carrying everything needed for the duration, with speeds up to 12 km an hour - this is truly a remarkable achievement and demonstration of mental stamina.

Of the experience, Simon said: “The ‘Toughest Foot Race on Earth’ certainly lived up to its reputation but exceeded all my expectations. An amazing, albeit gruelling, event that involved 155 miles of the Moroccan Sahara in temperatures reaching 55ºC Easily the hardest yet strangely most enjoyable race I’ve ever done. Thanks to everyone who has kindly supported this challenge and helping me raise money for Cardiac Risk in the Young.”

Simon, Mark and Jarlath can still be sponsored at http://www.justgiving.com/MdS2011CRY