A MEDICAL student survived the Sahara in a gruelling 120-mile endurance challenge to raise £4,500 for Sheffield Children's Hospital.
John Griffiths, aged 34, from Crookes, flew to Morocco to take part in the Des Sables Marathon, named The Toughest Footrace on Earth.
The event, run over five days, is the equivalent of five and a half regular marathons in temperatures reaching 35 degrees.
If that wasn't testing enough, John had to carry everything he needed for the duration of the race in his rucksack, including food, clothes, medical kit and a sleeping bag.
John spent six months training in the lead-up to the race, running to and from the Northern General Hospital from his home with a 10kg rucksack most days.
He then completed two five-hour runs at weekends, also carrying a 10kg rucksack.
"I've wanted to take part in the event since a friend completed it in the 1990s," he said.
"I was also really keen to do something to raise money for the Children's Hospital. I did a placement there as part of my degree and it is just such a fantastic cause.
"The staff are brilliant and the children are just so inspiring. It made the tough parts of the challenge bearable knowing I was raising cash for such an excellent hospital.
"It was an amazing experience. The landscape was incredible and I met some great people."
Simon Athey, senior fundraiser at the Children's Hospital Charity, said: "What John has achieved is incredible. For most people a marathon is a real challenge but to do the equivalent of five and a half in such high temperatures is amazing."
The money John raised will be put towards specialist medical equipment to help maintain the hospital's position as a centre of excellence for paediactric care.
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