A Miller Construction employee is taking part in what is described as the toughest foot race on Earth, the Marathon des Sables, raising money for the charity Mencap.

The Marathon des Sables is a six day, 156 mile ultra-marathon held in the Moroccan desert. Nigel Fishburn, Senior Surveyor, Miller Construction, originally set himself a fundraising target of £20,000 but having already exceeded his expectations, currently sitting at £39,000, he has set himself a new target of £50,000.

Nigel said: “I am delighted to be taking part in this year’s Marathon des Sables and raising money for Mencap. When Mencap contacted me to say I had been selected as one of the 14 participant’s taking part in the challenge specifically for the charity I was over the moon.

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“Miller Construction has been extremely supportive of me during the last 18 months I have been training and I am very grateful for all the donations. I’m pushing myself to the limit as this is one of the biggest challenges I will ever undertake. I have set myself a personal target to finish in the top half – approximately 850 people enter the event and it would be great if I could finish in the top 425.”

This year’s Marathon des Sables began on 31st March and runs through to the 11th April. To date, Nigel has completed approximately 600 miles of training, currently running between 50 and 60 miles a week in preparation for his run in the desert.

Ian Jubb, Regional Director, Miller Construction, said: “We are all extremely proud of Nigel for taking part in this challenge and he has the full support of the entire team. Nigel is used to working in quite different temperatures to the one’s he will experience in the desert – 48 degrees Celsius is not the sort of heat he is used to while working on site.”

Mencap is the UK’s leading charity for people living with a learning disability, supporting thousands of people and their families to lead a full and valued life.

If you would like to support Nigel and help him reach his fundraising target then please follow the link www.justgiving.com/Nigelsruninthedesert2011

(GK)