JAKOB Bloch and Shaun Smart, from Commodity Appointments in Petersfield, are taking part in this year’s gruelling Marathon Des Sables to raise money for a charity which makes the dreams of children with life-limiting conditions come true.

On a cold, wet Sunday in January, Shaun and Jakob took to the treadmill in Rams Walk to run a different kind of marathon. Their aim was to raise money for Dreams Come True, a charity established to help fulfil the dreams of children and young people with serious or life-limiting conditions in the UK.

With a troop of supporters armed with collection buckets, a healthy £600 was raised, thanks to the generosity of the shoppers who braved the weather.

Now, the two colleagues from Commodity Appointments, the executive search firm with its headquarters at The Old Dairy in Petersfield, have enrolled for a rather hot, sandy and blisters-guaranteed challenge in April. For they will be taking part in the Marathon Des Sables, nicknamed ‘the toughest foot race on Earth’.

This is an ultra-marathon through one of the world’s harshest and most inhospitable environments, the Sahara Desert.

The Marathon Des Sables is six marathons in six days with the longest single stage 57 miles where the runners must carry all their week’s supplies – everything from food and toilet roll to anti-venom pumps.

In addition to their day jobs as head hunters, they are pounding roads around the Hampshire countryside in preparation for the event.

A makeshift heat chamber in Jakob’s garage, equipped with treadmill, will help the pair acclimatise to the 100°F desert heat.

They have chosen to partner with Dreams Come True for this as well. The Marathon Des Sables challenge is funded by Commodity Appointments so all the money raised will go solely to the charity.