Hampshire team tackles race
Richard Cheetham, David O'Dwyer, Ross Stirling and Dave LambertChile run for foursome including Winchester lecturer
A Winchester University lecturer is part of a team preparing for a 250 kilometre run across the driest desert on earth.
Richard Cheetham and three team-mates from Hampshire are taking part in the Atacama Crossing in Chile.
The gruelling race began on Sunday March 7.
The Sports Science Support Unit at the University of Winchester has been carrying out extensive physiological testing on Richard Cheetham, who's Programme Leader on BA Sports Coaching and Development at Winchester.
He and his fellow team mates David O'Dwyer, Ross Stirling and Dave Lambert are all members of Basingstoke Rugby Club.
The team, the Red Hot Chile Runners, hopes to raise more than £5,000 for the charity, MENCAP.
University physiologists have been testing lung function, aerobic capacity and efficiency and have identified the changes since training has started.
They have also provided nutrition and hydration advice.
Richard Cheetham told Coast News:
"We will have to carry all the food so it has to be high in calories, easy to cook and digest and be as light as possible.
"One marathon a year is enough, but six in six days is going to be stressful. To make it more challenging - on day five we have to run 45 miles.
"Blisters appear to be the biggest threat along with the effects of the altitude and the heat, Any ultra endurance event has a huge psychological focus as the continual demands on the body, day after day, can take its toll."
The Atacama Crossing is part of the Four Deserts race series which was named by TIME magazine as number two on its list of the Top 10 Endurance Competitions in the World.
The Atacama Desert is 50 times more arid than California's Death Valley and temperatures are expected to reach up to 40 Celsius.
Exercise Physiotherapist at the University, Dr Barbara Yff, has provided training programmes for the weeks building up to the event, as well as details on recovery and dealing with the effects of heat stress. The kit list includes nearly 60 items - from safety pins and head torches to energy gels, solar powered charger for iPod and compass.
Richard suggested The Red Hot Chile Runners raise money for MENCAP as he is currently involved in a University community sport project, Cycling for All at Alice Holt Forest which involves students working with a number of adults with mental and physical impairments.
The team already has plans to compete in the Last Wilderness in 2012 which involves a race to the North Pole.
The team's progress across the Atacama Desert can be followed by visiting the website: http://www.4desertscrossing.com
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