Helpston man faces 120km Jordan desert run in Half Marathon des Sables for the Dusty Yak Foundation

A dad turned back time this month and battled through a desert heatwave for a twice-in-a-lifetime challenge.

Ian Robertson, from Helpston, joined his brother Dom and old schoolfriend Hugh van Cutsem at the start line for the Half Marathon des Sables – a sapping four-day 120km run across the sands of the Wadi Desert, in Jordan.

They faced the challenge for The Dusty Yak Foundation, a charity set up in 2015 by an old schoolmate which supports orphans and vulnerable children in Nepal and elsewhere in the world.

Carrying their supplies, they completed a 26km course on the opening day, featuring almost 1,000m of uphill, and then woke up the next day to take on another 62km of desert.

A badly-needed rest day preceded a 26.6km run to the finish at the historic city of Petra.

“It was brutal and beautiful in equal measures,” said Ian.

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“We had unusually high temperatures for this time of year in the Wadi Rum desert which made running in the middle of the day particularly warm work, but we were lucky and all of us came out relatively unscathed!”

Hugh was quickest of the trio, covering the 120km in a combined time of 20hr 15min 36secs for 73rd place overall.

Ian clocked 23hrs 35min 33secs for 132nd, pipping his younger brother Dom by less than five minutes and three places.

“We were also leading the British contingent of runners and made sure we weren’t the last team home,” Ian added.

Most importantly of all, the fundraising exercise was an undoubted success.

In 2005, the trio – calling themselves the Three Unwise Men – completed the full Marathon Des Sables – an infamous 250km stage race across the Sahara.

Eighteen years on, The Older Three Unwise Men smashed their £15,000 fundraising target and are closing in on £26,000.

If you wish to donate, visit https://www.justgiving.com/page/the-older-unwise-men