Firefighter is ready to feel the heat of desert race

FORMER smoker Nigel Hewitt is hoping to raise �3,000 for charity by completing a 150-mile, six-day race across the Sahara desert.

Nigel, pictured, crew manager at Newcastle Fire Station, has been training for the Marathon de Sables (MDS) for more than two years.

And he has been running for about four years after packing in cigarettes.

He used to smoke about 20 a day and he wanted to do the race as it was near his 50th birthday on February 23.

He said: "One of the days will involve running more than 50 miles.

"I used to run in my 20s, and I decided to go back to it. I wanted to get fit and I set myself goals."

He managed to quit cigarettes in one month, using patches to help him. Then his attention turned to the race.

But even securing a spot in the MDS is difficult as there is only a handful of places.

Wife Julie, aged 48, will be watching his progress online, via checkpoints which know when a runner passes through them.

She said: "He quit smoking and then within a month he was saying he wanted to do the MDS.

"I'm apprehensive because of the heat and what he is going to be putting his body through, but now he thinks nothing of doing 18 or 20 miles every weekend."

Nigel, from Clayton, will have to carry all his own kit for the race, which weighs 7.5kg – about twice as much as his firefighting kit.

It includes his food, clothes, bedding, medical supplies, sleeping bag and distress flare. Water is supplied daily by race organisers.

Nigel has previously run the Potters 'Arf, and the Birmingham and Stafford half marathons.

As part of his training, he has been running up to 50 miles a week and ran the 95-mile Staffordshire Way in three days.

Nigel's efforts will raise money for forces charity SSAFA. He served with the Royal Signals for seven years before becoming a firefighter.

He said: "I'm getting nervous about the race, but it's a once-in-a-lifetime adventure."

As well as raising �3,000 through the MDS, Nigel has netted �1,500 for his chosen charity with the Staffordshire Way training exercise.

The race starts on April 2. Nigel will fly to Quarzazate, in Morocco, on March 31.

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