In early October Hugh, along with friend and well-known marathon runner Paddy Hamilton, will be taking part in the legendary Marathon Des Sables. The event is a six-day ultra-marathon that sees entrants running 156 miles in the Sahara Desert, at a time of year when the temperature can exceed 50 degrees Celsius, all while carrying their own food and water in a 15kg backpack and sleeping in a tent as and when they can over the challenge.
In taking on this gruelling challenge Team Morgan has set a target to raise £100,000 for the NI Hospice and Irish Hospice Foundation – two wonderful charities that support those facing dying, death and bereavement throughout the island of Ireland.
The race was originally to take place in April but was postponed due to covid and then moved to October. On reflection, both runners have said the change in date made it difficult to train and prepare for the challenge, with covid making the whole race uncertain, but once the October date was confirmed it spurred them on and allowed for extra training.
Despite the difficult training regime and preparations needed ahead of the ultra-marathon, Team Morgan are focused on the end results to help raise the vital funds for both charities.
The ultimate challenge
As Hugh Morgan, CEO of Morgan Fuels, comments: “The challenge that Paddy and I are facing in the training and preparation for this run across the Sahara Desert is only a fraction of the challenge that the nurses and doctors face each morning as they try to care for their patients who are facing the ultimate challenge as they fight for their life. I encourage everybody to get involved in this fundraising event so we can raise as much as possible for both charities.”
“Our overall goal is to help those supporting people in need. The implications of the covid-19 pandemic mean that charities have suffered hugely with the cancellation of fundraising events around the globe. This is our way of helping two worthy charities as they work through challenges to continue supporting those in need.”
Team Morgan is all set and ready to go, and, at Fuel Oil News, we take our hats off to them for taking on such an incredible challenge. If you would like to show your support for Hugh and Paddy, please click here: Donate. You can also follow their training by following @TeamMorganRun on Instagram here.