There are endless stories of kayakers achieving all sorts of amazing things from crazy multi-day solo epics to the likes of Tyler Bradt’s taking on of 189 ft of Palouse Falls right the way through to the individual achievements of each paddler at weekends pushing their own boundaries. Each of us all do amazing things in our own way.

This particular post is to focus a little bit of attention on one of the amazing paddlers / people I have come across, whom I have the privilege of calling friend. The man is as modest as his story is impressive, I know he will feel uneasy at the notion of being singled out as being considered more special or different than anyone else.

The man himself aka Mark Lyons will be a familiar face to those in the Scottish / UK boating scene who have been around for any reasonable length of time, its possible easier to list the big international destinations that he hasn’t traveled to that where he has been. But Central Europe, Norway, British Colombia, Nepal are just a scratching the surface of his boating experience. I think for me to even label Mark as a “Kayaker” is selling him short a little as he is also a very accomplished Mountaineer , Climber , Mountain Biker and Scuba Diver, to name but a few.

I could add international ladies man to that list of thing but I’m not sure i could get away posting those photographs online Anyway I should really get to the point of this long overdue blog post before I give Mark an even bigger ego if I continue on like this. Last year Mark was asked by a friend to take in the Edinburgh half marathon for charity, not being a runner but always a man to like a challenge / doing something for charity he was all in for taking part. True to form Mark couldn’t just leave it at that.

In February I bought a pair of running shoes and embarked on a mission to run a 1/2 marathon in April , then I set a goal of a marathon in September and achieved this in Amsterdam with Darren Murphy , but instead of taking the foot off the gas like most sensible people would do , I upped the ante’ and embarked on a new far greater challenge , to complete “The Marathon Des Sable” , a multi stage race over 6 days ,racing 156 miles across the Sahara Desert , often called “The toughest foot race in the world”

For those who have never heard of the Marathon Des Sable it doesn’t get it title of “The toughest foot race in the World” for nothing, it is essentially SIX…. that’s right count them, six marathons over six days across the Sahara Desert. This kinda of ultra ultrathon running is the kind of event life long distant runners take two plus years to prepare for, so what chance does a guy does a guy from the Scottish Borders who only took up running 12 months ago have of surviving this kind of challenge? I don’t think there is a single tangible quality you can name that but I reckon grit, courage, determent, crazy would be a fair start.

As if taking on the Marathon Des Sables wasn’t task of huge enormity its self Mark has also signed for the Sand Baggers Scottish Ultra race and the Gobi Challenge, in the ultra running community these are renowned as three of the toughest races in the world, all three of which Mark will complete within a few months of each other.

In the last year Mark has been quiet open about his personal life being a bit hectic combined with how tough it has been for his business all while trying to prepare for his upcoming challenges. Not being one to back hide away in a corner Mark has started a  has started a website to document his journeys for himself and his friends to keep track of his progress.

If you read back from some of the previous posts they give you some idea of the all the training and effort Mark has put into getting to the point where he is now, all set to head to the Sahara in less than seven days to take his place at the Marathon Des Sables start line. True to form Mark added a charity element to all of these challenges, he is trying to raise both awareness and funds for MS Scotland.

Recent events had brought me awareness of the MS Society of Scotland and its borders branch , I learnt that multiple sclerosis is a disease that affects a lot of people and the support they and their family needs is huge , the charity and its members work tirelessly and I really wanted to help , so my new challenge was born , I would attempt not only to race across the Sahara and Scotland  but I would also run in the Gobi Ultrathon , 140+_ miles across the Gobi desert , through Ice gorges , mountain passes , desert and salt plains … so that was it , an Ultra hat trick , 3 of the toughest races in the world , ran in 3 months , anUltra Ultra challenge was born … and hopefully in turn my efforts will make people aware of MS Scotland , its tireless members and help raise awareness of its cause.

It is possible to donate to this cause via Marks “My Charity” page which is embedded right in Mark’s www.runner786.com website using PayPal, credit or debit card. Any amount you might be able to spare is welcome no matter how large or small. Even if you are not in a position to donate please have a look around the website read some of the great stories about how Mark ended up where he is now including some fairly frank stories of marks own past.

Once Mark sets off on the Marathon Des Sables all going well his blog should be updated daily with progress reports. Anyway cheers for reading this check it out, drop a few comment if you like or even hit Mark up on Twitter @runner786

www.runner786.com

Adrian