"I chose this race because I've done some events in heat and whilst I love the heat and it will always be a challenge I wanted to push myself differently. An event called Fire and Ice in Iceland in September 2017 was a stab at performing in the cold but in the end it was not much colder than an average English winter.

The 6633, however, is in a different league. It is run entirely in Canada and just getting there is an adventure with a flight to Vancouver, then another to a small place called Whitehorse. From there is a drive north to the start in Eagle Plains. There are two 'flavours' of this race, of which I entered the shorter which is 120 miles over 3 days and ends at Fort McPherson. I then had the option of then going on to attempt the 380 mile version which finished at Tuktoyakatuk on the shore of the Arctic Ocean almost 6 days after that - so almost 9 days in total!

This is a self sufficient race so I went out there with a Pulk (sled) to carry all my necessary kit, pulling it along myself and on it was all my food, my sleeping bag, a bivvy bag (an outer survival layer for protection), cooking equipment and all my other bits and pieces including, of course, the very anti-cancer drugs that are essential for my prolonged scrap with prostate cancer. This was an unbelievably tough event for many reasons -you can read more about it in my blogs- and this was filmed by Richard Alexander for his upcoming film. The stuff he shot shows the beauty of the place, as well as doing a pretty good of showing how harsh, barren and massive the place is.

The worst thing for me was probably the sleep deprivation, the severe cold coming in second and, like I said, there is a list of things that make this difficult... too much to go into here. Eventually, of the almost 30 runners who signed up for this, only 2 of us managed to finish the 120 mile version, and only 6 the longer race. I think that shows just how tough this was.

When I was on the last 10k or so, Richard asked me if I was going to consider going on to try my luck at the 380 mile variant. I think my answer to him was pretty quick and quire certain - I felt so exhausted that i just couldn't see myself completing it, which would have meant forfeiting a medal totally. So, in the end, I decided to come in second and then spent a few days exploring the mysteries and beauty of this region - and of course providing much-needed support to those hardy sould still out there attempting to complete the 380 mile version - what a beast!!"

"I love, love, love this race. If there's one multi-stage ultra race that everyone should have a go at its this. Yes it costs but the organisation is second to none and the actual race is brutal; 250 kilometres across massive sand dunes that seem to go on forever; mountains (Jebels); endless salt flats. But the camaraderie on this event is the best I have ever experienced, its amazing and I will never forget my mates from previous events, those guys in tents 105 (in 2016) and 107 (in 2017).

Again, this is a self-sufficiency event so you have to carry a pack with your water and supplies but thankfully you can sleep in between stages and the temperatures do cool down at night.

Well, I'm so pleased that I did it, although I had serious doubts after day 2 when I was feeling pretty rough. I have now actually finished my third, consecutive Marathon Des Sables; I don't believe that anyone has done that before with any T4 metastatic cancer including my prostate cancer. There were many heroic stories out there and a fair few sand storms and if you want to read more details, just check my blogs, it's all there!”

"I did this race in 2017 and it's 230 kilometres in the mountains in an area of Spain called Andalusia. It's not self-sufficient so no pack but in 2016 we experienced the hottest day on record where it was 47.5c in the shade and unlike the Sahara, it never really cooled down that much at night.

There is over 7000m of ascent – and what goes up must come down which puts a whole different level of strain on your legs as you descend. It is arid, undulating, dusty, the running surfaces are extremely tricky at points, so all in all a really tough challenge and the unbelievably scorching sun with practically no shade throughout.

So, why enter it again? Well, it was 'unfinished business' as I was pulled out by the race director 18 kilometres from the end in 2017 and was utterly determined to finish it this time. It was as tough as I recalled from the previous year with a high number of competitors having to drop out of the race over the five days. Day four was the big barrier and, knowing this, I planned meticulously to ensure I had the best chance of completing this time around.

Crossing the line was exhilarating knowing that I'd conquered it. Fabulous.

"So... this is really an amazing sounding event, tucked away in a country a lot of people have barely even heard of yet once you do some investigation you realise it's an incredibe place!

There was over 8000m of ascent/descent and starts in the incredible World Heritage site of Berat (google images of it and try not to be impressed), finishing 220km later in an ancient amphitheatre, in yet another World Heritage site called Butrint.

As I did more research on this race, the country and the people I became less concerned about 'potential horrors' I could encounter (you know; rumours and fake news!) and more fascinated about the country and the people. If you want to know more details about the race and what I encountered just head over to my blogs... this event really did live up to its name as The Hidden Treasure Race..."