Retired soldier to run for charity

A former soldier is embarking on a gruelling trek in order to raise money for a forces charity.

Mal Smith, 57, a former Royal Engineer from Hertfordshire, will fly out to Egypt to run the Marathon des Sables on April 4th, before returning to the UK to take part in the Virgin London Marathon on April 25th.

All proceeds from his campaign will go to the charity Help for Heroes, which helps inured ex-servicemen and women, and Mr Smith told the Royston Crow that the Egyptian race in particular will be hard work.

"The Marathon des Sables course is 150 miles across the Egyptian desert and you complete it in six stages over seven days. You have to carry all your equipment with you, and you’re running on sand all the time," he told the newspaper.

Other soldiers doing their bit for charity include servicemen in the Humberside town of Goole, who are completing a ten-mile run to raise funds for troops fighting in Afghanistan, the Goole Courier reported.

Posted by Mark Wilkins