Harrogate man completes Marathon des Sables race
A man who took part in what has been dubbed "the toughest foot race on earth" has described it as a "once in a lifetime" experience.Charlie Parish, 36, took part in the 252km (155 mile) Marathon des Sables through the Sahara Desert in Morocco to raise awareness of men's mental health and has raised more than £2,000 for charity.He carried all of his gear and food during the seven-day race, and slept in a tent with eight other people.Mr Parish, from Harrogate, trained in a special heated laboratory at Leeds Beckett University and expected temperatures to be up to 50C (122F) - but was pleased it turned out to be a little cooler.
The terrain ranged from sand to hard paths, he said, adding: "Finding myself running up near vertical sand dunes was soul destroying at times.""We got rain on one day and I was loving it," Mr Parish said."It felt like I was back in Yorkshire, it was surreal to get rain in the Sahara."However, the temperature reached more than 30C on most days, he added.Mr Parish said he had also underestimated how tough it would be to camp in the desert."In the evenings we were bombarded by winds and sandstorms and our tent came down at night," he said."Looking across at a tentmate wearing swimming goggles because sand was everywhere will stay with me a while."But it was the views and scenery that really made the experience special for him: "I kept waiting for the Lion King scene - when the monkey lifts up Simba."It was definitely a once in a lifetime thing. The views were surreal."
Mr Parish was fundraising for suicide prevention charity Campaign Against Living Miserably (Calm) and said that was a huge motivation for doing the race."One of the major positives [during the race] was being surrounded by like-minded people and the amount of men talking about mental health was great," he said.Out of 847 competitors in the Marathon des Sables, Mr Parish finished in 158th place and said he was proud of what he had achieved.
Listen to highlights from North Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
Harrogate sign Maidenhead striker McCoulsky
Harrogate Town have signed Maidenhead United striker Shawn McCoulsky on a two-year 28-year-old scored 15 goals in 44 league appearances last season as the Magpies suffered relegation from the National League."I spoke to the manager about the direction the club is going in and the project here and it was definitely a no-brainer," he told the club website., external"Everyone I spoke to had nothing but good things to say about the club and that made my decision a lot easier."
Daily Mail
4 hours ago
- Daily Mail
TV sports presenter reveals hospital health battle after ‘horrific' comments about her weight when she appeared on Formula One coverage
TV sports presenter Lee McKenzie has spoke out after being targeted by online trolls who made 'horrific' comments about her weight. McKenzie is a regularly presenter on both Channel 4 and the BBC and has worked on a variety of sports including F1, rugby and equestrian. The 47-year-old made an appearance for the broadcaster's coverage of the Spanish Grand Prix - in which Oscar Piastri claimed his fifth victory of the season - on Sunday. However, McKenzie's return was met by online trolls who commented on her physical appearance on the day and now the Channel 4 presenter has revealed that she had been struggling with 'health issues' in recent weeks. Taking to Facebook, she wrote: 'I've been thinking about whether I should post this but I will as it's not just about me, it's for all women and men too. 'Last month I went into hospital for an operation and I've been struggling with some health issues for a while now. 'As you see on here I'm a private person and I post about my work, not too much about life outside of work. I don't need or want attention or validation. 'But the comments about my appearance and weight at the Spanish Grand Prix have been horrific. I've had to turn off comments on my social media. It's worth saying they came from women and men alike. 'If you don't like what someone wears or looks like on television, feel free to think about it but why send it to them? Why contact someone to be deliberately rude? 'I'm a journalist and I'm good at my job and I'm furious that this affects me. But it does and there will be people out there getting similar abuse that are not as strong as me. Don't do it. 'The good news is that a larger operation that I thought I was going to get isn't needed at the moment and things can be treated with medication. Many people have this. It's not about being unwell. It's about the vile comments from women and men commenting on my appearance. 'My health is improving and I'm back at the gym. For me. Not for anyone else. Think before you write to someone'. The post has since been 'liked' by over 25,000 Facebook users and 22,000 of her Instagram followers. Accompanying the posts was a picture of McKenzie while at a previous F1 event and a selfie from the hospital bed - where she pose with a smile and a thumbs up. Elsewhere on the day, a dejected Lewis Hamilton made a brutal Ferrari admission after finishing sixth at the Spanish Grand Prix. The seven-time world champion is still waiting for his first podium since joining the Scuderia from Mercedes and was lost for words after his misery in Barcelona . Hamilton came home in seventh but was bumped up one place after Max Verstappen careered into George Russell , an incident which saw him demoted down to 10th. Unable to keep up with the two McLarens and Verstappen, Hamilton was told to let Charles Leclerc pass him early in the race, giving his team-mate a leg up as he went on to finish third, and he was overtaken by Nico Hulkenberg on the penultimate lap.
BBC News
5 hours ago
- BBC News
Mark Wahlberg says Edinburgh brothers' Pacific row should be a movie
Holywood actor Mark Wahlberg has told three Scottish brothers their Pacific Ocean rowing record attempt should be made into a spoke to Edinburgh's Ewan, Jamie and Lachlan Maclean in a video call, 54 days into their brothers are aiming to complete the fastest ever non-stop and unsupported row from Peru to Sydney in Australia - a total distance of 9,000 miles (14,484km).Wahlberg was made aware of the record attempt via a friend of his personal assistant who had met Jamie when he played bagpipes at a wedding they were both attending. The brothers, who are trying to raise £1m for clean water projects in Madagascar, are more than 5,000 miles (8,047km) from their finish the call last Thursday, Wahlberg told them: "This could be a movie. "The best films I've done are based on true stories - ordinary people doing extraordinary things. "No way I'd row an ocean, but I'd play one of you guys in a movie." The actor shared stories from shooting 2000's disaster drama The Perfect Storm with George whose other films include Ted and Transformers, told the brothers: "What you guys are doing is next level."You're living out a sense of purpose - combining passion with impact. That's rare, and it's humbling to watch."Lachlan, 27, said later he had wondered if he had imagined the said: "We're all operating in such little sleep that we thought it all could have been a hallucination." The brothers' 280kg boat was built to be one of the lightest and strongest ocean rowing boats ever is named Rose Emily in memory of their unborn sister, with her name hand-painted on the hull by their board are 500kg of freeze-dried food, including 75kg of oats and a menu of high-calorie comfort meals prepared by include beef chilli, Thai red curry, and haggis, neeps and tatties - with the hope of adding fresh fish caught at 33, said the journey had been much tougher than expected - but they had been delighted by the call with the Hollywood said: "Today we had dolphins surfing near the boat, and that lifted our spirits — and then we hear we get to speak to Mark Wahlberg, so spirits are absolutely through the roof."We are such big fans, and speaking to him is like a dream come true for us. It's so cool… but it's bloody surreal."
