A BARROW dad and former soldier conquered a gruelling 150 mile desert marathon over six days.

Paul Harris, 34, traversed the Sahara for the Marathon des Sables, described as the toughest foot race on earth, to raise money for St Mary’s Hospice.

Mr Harris spent a year training for the epic event, the longest stage of which saw him take on 50 miles on the sands.

The father-of-two missed the first birthday of his one-year-old daughter on the second day of the race.

Mr Harris, of James Watt Terrace, said the marathon was tough but was spurred on throughout the course by messages of goodwill.

He said: “When we stayed in a tent at the end of the day, the organisers would deliver four of five emails every day to us encouraging us to keep going.

“People were tracking my progress online and supporting me, even if they thought I was mad.

“It is definitely the hardest thing I’ve ever done.

“The 50 mile stage was horrendous and took me 13 hours to complete and was difficult after I hurt my ankle at the beginning.”

The former Royal Engineer said he was first enticed by the race after seeing a documentary on it 10 years ago and thought he take part after recently running a lot.

He said training was a huge commitment that had taken him away from his family and thanked his wife for her help along the way.

“I trained doing half-marathons and 50 mile races to build myself up. It takes a lot of time out of your life and away from your family.

“When I missed my daughter’s birthday I was a bit conflicted, but it will be something to tell the children when they are older.”

A online fund set up by Mr Harris to raise money for St Mary’s Hospice has so far amassed £800.

He said his charity goal gave him extra motivation in the intense race.

“I thought it would be great cause to run for. It was a good pressure when I was out there to know that people had sponsored me. When you felt tired it gave you an extra boost.”