FORMER serviceman Ricky Harden completed a gruelling 150-mile run crossing the Moroccan Sahara Desert despite being injured in the approach to the event.

Ricky, 43, of Upland Road in Grange Park, came in 386th place out of around 1,400 runners in the Marathon des Sables.

before taking part, he described the run his greatest physical challenge in almost 20 years - and a "mid-life crisis".

However, he has been bitten by the bug and is signing up for more extreme events, including the Tor des Geants trail run in Italy and the 125-mile Devizes to Westminster canoe race.

Ricky, who now works as a crane operator, said the Marathon des Sables was tough going under the day-time sun.

But, he said: "Once the sun went down I was in my element. Being ex forces, I'm used to endurance events so once it cooled down I ploughed on."

He said in future he would ensure he got more sleep before racing: "I travelled to the start point without a hotel stop and was a bit sleep deprived and had spent seven hours on a coach before starting, which wasn't ideal."

He added: "There were seven different types of terrain in the marathon and my trainers split on some rocky terrain. I had to keep going though, I didn't have a spare pair.

"All in all, it went really well considering I was injured in the approach to it. I am pleased with my performance, beating around 1,000 people is better than I thought I'd do."

Ricky served with the army from 1988 to 98 including two tours of Bosnia – in 1994 and 1996. He was later called up to the Iraq war in 2003 and 2005.

His next challenge, the 200-mile Tor des Geants in the Valle d'Aosta, takes place in September and involves a climb of 24,000 metres.

Ricky will continue to raise funds for local children’s charity Helen Marie Friends, which supports children who are poorly and their families.

For information about the charity visit helenmariefriends.org.uk or contact Ricky to sponsor him at rharden49@gmail.com.