RUNNING through mountainous sand dunes in the Sahara Desert while enduring scorching temperatures, was all in a week’s work for Seend man Nick Keen.

The 54-year-old of Rusty Lane has just returned from competing in the Marathon des Sables, which involved running more than 160 miles for five days along with over 1,300 others.

It is the second time the property developer has taken part in the marathon and this time he managed to beat the previous record he achieved in 2012, as it took him just over 42 hours and he was one of the top 500 runners.

“The first day was a bit like a baptism of fire,” Mr Keen said, “Because I forgot how extreme it can be, getting to grips with it wasn’t a walk in the park.

“I managed to survive this time without any blisters or injuries. Compared to all of the other competitors I came unscathed.”

The competition is now in its 30th year and runners had to run the equivalent of five and a half marathons with two-three check points a day, they also had a time-scale to reach them and if they were overtaken by a camel following behind they would be disqualified.

“The views and scenery are really spectacular,” he added: “It’s still as extreme as before, when I did it three years ago. It was 40-50 degrees and it was fairly breezy at times because there are no trees in the desert to protect you.”

The father-of-two has also had lots of support from his family and friends, he said: “They think I’m just as mad, mad to do it once and madder to do it the second time but I had some really nice comments and support.

“The first time I said I would never do it again and here we are doing the second one, but I won’t rule it out again.”

So far Mr Keen has raised £2,500 for The Forever Friends Appeal which is funding new equipment and a cancer centre at the Royal United Hospital in Bath. To donate go to: justgiving.com/Nick-Keens-Les-Sables