Ready… Steady… Go
Well, starting this week on my 2,650 mile 85 day run from John O'Groats to the Moroccan Sahara desert. All the hard preparation work has been done, all the equipment is ready, and I just can't wait to get started.

Last week I raced in the Indo Ultra race (www.indoultra.co.uk). An amazing 215km, six-day race through the jungles of Indonesia. I managed to come out unscathed, and came first overall (although there were only seven starters). Temperatures were up to 32-37C with humidity of 80-100% so conditions were seriously testing. I drank an average of 10 litres of fluid a day.

Medically I'll be working with Coventry University who will be using me as a case study. I'll be monitoring my nutrition, hydration, mood state, sleep and recovery along with a load of other things.

On this trek I'll be eating 6,500 calories a day, consisting of roughly 65% carbohydrates, 20% as fat, and 15% as protein, to aid muscle recovery.

Previous medical problems I have had include iron-deficient anaemia, caused by foot-strike haemolysis, march haematuria, and GI blood loss. I'll be taking iron tablets for the duration of the challenge. I also suffered a stress fracture of my tibia, although this occured when dragging a heavy sledge more than 100 miles in a day. I'll be keeping an eye on that and treating any overuse injuries.

The big kick off is on 8th of November. Please follow the www.scotland2sahara.com website, and I will be writing weekly updates here every 10 days.

A BBC documentary team is set to follow me as I embark on this epic run, which will hopefully smash the existing world record for most miles run in a month, and possibly several other records at the same time.

To donate via text, text S2S to 70700. This will donate £5 to the Yamaa Trust. Text costs £5 plus network charge. Yamaa Trust receives at least £4.45.