A ROSSENDALE man is undertaking ‘the toughest race on Earth’ in a bid to raise money for a children’s medical research charity.

John Whittaker, 29, of Chu-rch Lane, Edenfield, is to att-empt running 151 miles over six days, in the Sahara Desert.

Not only will he run The Marathon Des Sables – the equivalent to five and a half regular marathons in temp-eratures of up to 120°F – he will also have to carry everything he needs for the duration of the race including food, clothes and a sleeping bag.

The 29-year-old is a former pupil of St James-the-Less Primary School in Rawtenstall and is taking on the challenge for Sparks, a children’s medical research charity dedicated to researching a range of conditions affecting children and mums-to-be.

The corporate finance man-ager said: “My family have al-ways been very active and often completed marathons for charity.

“I heard about The Marathon Des Sables and thought that sounds both like a physical and mental challenge.

“I am a little apprehensive about the event as I don’t know how my body will cope with the heat or the difficult conditions. I have been train-ing hard and using a rucksack full of stones to represent the 11kg weight I will have to carry.”

Keen marathon runner John, is the son of Peel Holdings tycoon John Whittaker who built an empire worth an estimated £900million incl-uding the Trafford Centre and Liverpool’s John Lennon Airport. The Marathon Des Sables is renowned as the toughest race on Earth as competitors have to struggle with blistered feet, loss of toe nails, muscle fatigue, burning, dehydration, heat exhaustion, heat stroke, dizziness, vomit-ing and fainting.

John, who flies out to Mor-occo on Sunday, said: “I feel incredibly proud to be taking part in the Marathon Des Sables and having the opp-ortunity to raise money for a fantastic cause.”

To sponsor John visit virgin moneygiving.com/team/run-walk-crawl-drop.