A SOLDIER has successfully battled high temperatures, painful blisters and gruelling desert terrain to raise more than £1,000 for charity.

Mark Lindsay, of Lower Wick, Worcester, has only just recovered from the sheer physical exertion of finishing the 155-mile Racing The Planet Four Deserts event in Egypt’s Sahara.

Crossing the finish line at the Pyramids of Giza with more than a dozen blisters on each foot, aching hips and knees, Warrant Officer second class (WO2) Lindsay of the Royal Engineers had no regrets.

Speaking from his base in Kuwait, he said: “I was absolutely chuffed. It is sheer euphoria.

“But then I was sitting around thinking ‘I’ve done all the training, now I’ve finished, what happens now?’”

WO2 Lindsay, aged 37, completed the seven-day event running between checkpoints and in stages ranging from 10 to 62 miles. He was running over sand dunes and rock beds in a joint effort with Army colleague Major Andy Whiteside for charity Help For Heroes, which helps those wounded in current conflicts.

The terrain included a mammoth 62-mile single day event which took its toll on several of the 150 competitors.

WO2 Lindsay said: “I bumped into a guy I’d met previously on the course and he was struggling, so I stopped with him.

“He sat down in the shadow of a rock and collapsed and started losing his sight.

“Thankfully a doctor picked him up.”

There was time even in temperatures up to 45C/113F to appreciate the scenery, including rolling white sand dunes and the ‘Animal Kingdom’ – natural rock formations sand-blasted by the wind.

“It was surprising.

“The sun was behind me and in front were these shapes getting closer – suddenly I was thinking that looks like a duck and that looks like a dog’s head.”

Through sleep-disturbed nights at the checkpoints and with only basic equipment including water and medikit WO2 Lindsay finished the course on Sunday, November 2, returning to work the `following week.

Before starting the race, a rigorous training regime in Kuwait had caused two toenails to go black and “pop off”.

“Next I want to do the same thing but in the Atacama Desert, Chile, in March. It’s supposed to be the windiest,” he said.

WO2 Lindsay is now looking for sponsorship to fund his South American attempt and can be contacted on marklindsay71@ hotmail.com.