‘Chieveley Superman’ completes Marathon des Sables across the Moroccan Sahara in aid of The Brain Tumour Charity
Chieveley’s very own ‘Superman’ has returned home to a true hero’s welcome after completing the 37th annual Marathon des Sables — often billed as one of the toughest foot races in the world.
The legendary ultramarathon lasts six days and covers a distance of 250km through the Moroccan Sahara. Chieveley resident Simon Halliday, 55, joined over 1,200 other runners competing in this year’s event to raise money for The Brain Tumour Charity in memory of his mother-in-law, Diana Brown.
He has so far raised more than £7,000 and hopes to reach £10,000.
Mr Halliday had scarcely any marathon training before arriving in Morocco on Friday, April 21. When he finally left the desert on Saturday, April 29, he had completed one of the most gruelling yet rewarding experiences of his life.
“I’ve done some stuff before in my time, but this was the big one; this was the one that I always knew existed,” he said.
“When you do something like this, you need a have a reason why you’re going to do it, so when you have those moments when you need to have a word with yourself because it’s getting tough, you can rely on that understanding of why you’re doing it.
“For me, it was my mother-in-law who died from a brain tumour three years ago.”
Mr Halliday began his training in October, but nothing could prepare him for the harsh desert conditions.
“It’s just an assault on your senses,” he added. “For a guy from West Berkshire who’s had six half-hour sessions in the Donnington Valley sauna, that was my heat acclimatisation.”
After completing medical and kit checks, Mr Halliday started running the first 36km on Sunday, April 23 and says 60 to 70 runners dropped out on the first day.
By the end of the week, only three of eight runners remained in his tent. His friend and brother-in-law were among those who unfortunately didn’t finish the race.
But Mr Halliday persevered through the entire challenge, running day and night carrying a 14kg backpack of food, water and sleeping gear — with the longest single stretch lasting 90km.
Besides the scorching heat, often reaching highs of over 50°C, Mr Halliday had to monitor his salt intake and contend with severe blistering on his feet.
“I’m still in recovery now,” he said. “The sand is lovely to look at, but it’s better for a bucket and spade than it is for a set of trainers.”
He says even at his lowest ebb, the iconic 1997 ‘Everest’ rallying cry of former rugby union coach Jim Telfer encouraged him to keep pushing on.
Every runner had to be self-sufficient, preparing their own food and fires, all while having limited contact with the outside world.
Each wore an emergency GPS beacon so their progress could be tracked live online. And eagerly following Mr Halliday’s every step from afar was his wife, Jo.
“I think he just got to a point in his life where he really wanted to challenge himself,” she said.
“He realised to do it he would need a really strong motivator to keep him going.
“My mum had a pretty terrible time with brain cancer, and I think when you’ve got something like that in the back of your head you can keep going because you know people have much worse to deal with.”
But she still had her doubts.
“It was the first time I said to him, ‘I’m not sure I want you to do this’. We both went away and thought about it for 24 hours and it was quite clear how much he wanted to do it.
“I’ve been on Team Simon, but I was quite concerned, as people occasionally die doing this.”
Largely unbeknown to Mr Halliday was the strong community support his cause had attracted back home.
Mrs Halliday added: “We had the whole village sending messages to him, and he would be given those at camp.
“He’s not an ultra-runner, he’s just a good guy. And for people to see somebody who doesn’t do this for a living get through something like this, I think it does make you think.”
All his struggles proved worthwhile when Mr Halliday was greeted with a surprise party at the Ye Olde Red Lion in Chieveley on Friday (May 5) evening.
A packed pub of family, friends and neighbours joined in singing ‘For he’s a jolly good fellow’ as Mr Halliday entered the room, wearing his medal.
“He’s a great friend and a very loyal local,” said pub landlady, Jo Nicholls.
“Everybody was in total disbelief when we knew what it was, and then realised it was more serious as we got closer to the date.
“He’s been very strict and disciplined, and we’re really proud of him.
“We’re a really close village and whilst he was away, everybody followed his every step. He’s a genuine Chieveley Superman.”
You can still support Mr Halliday’s fundraiser by visiting https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/simon-halliday2023?utm_source=copyLink&utm_medium=fundraising&utm_content=simon-halliday2023&utm_campaign=pfp-share&utm_term=d0b8603d82ac461781c0757e3938a798
Mr Halliday now plans to give talks about his experiences at venues around the village.
But first, it was time for him to enjoy his first pint of Guinness since starting the challenge — or ‘Vitamin G’, as he likes to call it.
