AFTER promising he would never do it again, Nick Keen from Seend is busy preparing to take on the Marathon des Sables for a second time.

The gruelling challenge involves running more than 160 miles over five days, battling scorching temperatures in the Sahara Desert and has been ranked as one of the toughest by the Discovery Channel.

Mr Keen, 54, a property developer from Rusty Lane, first took on the event in 2012 which is the equivalent of five and a half marathons. He jokingly blames his neighbour Sarah Chard, of Perry's Lane, the UK organiser of the event, for talking him into doing it again.

He said: "It is a mixture of emotions. It was very tough because the environment is quite extreme adapting to different terrains, but we also get a good sense of achievement. Going through the night is particularly taxing.

"To justify the miles and miles of preparation for this extremely difficult and very sandy challenge, there is method to my madness." He added, "We all know someone who has lost loved ones or have been affected in some way by cancer."

Mr Keen is hoping to raise as much as possible for The Forever Friends Appeal which is funding new equipment and a cancer centre at the Royal United Hospital in Bath.

The father-of-two will begin the marathon in just over two week's time on April 5 and is hoping to finish on April 11. To prepare he has been training for six months alongside his regular running and motocross regime.

He has already taken part in October's Snowdonia Marathon and the London Marathon in 2010 and currently clocks up over 70 miles a week. During the final stages of training he will top up his runs with a 10kg back pack.

To sponsor Mr Keen go to: justgiving.com/Nick-Keens-Les-Sables