One marathon in a lifetime would be enough for many people but Grant Mowbray is planning to run six of them in seven days — across the Sahara Desert.

The 41-year-old Canadian is training for the gruelling Marathon des Sables in Morocco next month, when he hopes to make it across 156 miles (250 km) of sand and rock in temperatures up to 40C (104F) to the finish line.

"I won't have a problem finishing this race mentally," he told The Royal Gazette. "It's hard but that's partly why I'm going, to experience the mental anguish.

"I'm probably able to put up with a lot of suffering, more than some people are. The only thing that will stop me is injury."

Those taking part in the challenge — often termed the "toughest foot race on the planet" — must carry all their own gear, cook their own food and sleep in makeshift tents on the sand each night. To get a taste of the event watch our video report at www.theroyalgazette.com.

"The risk is you can run so hard and sweat so much and get so dehydrated that they have to plug you into an IV bag," said Mr. Mowbray, who has lived in Bermuda for more than six years. "Dehydration and foot blisters are the big problems.

"I'm just thinking of it as an adventure. My goals are just to finish injury-free and enjoy it because I probably will never do it again."

He added: "I also want to avoid the camel spiders. They are like a combination of a spider and a scorpion and they can bite."

The head of market risk for Butterfield Group, who lives in Paget, was inspired to enter the Marathon des Sables after a chance meeting on the ferry here with a New Yorker who had completed the race.

Mr. Mowbray only took up running two years ago. He now pounds the south shore carrying a weighted backpack for hours most mornings, averaging about 50 miles a week.

"I try and get home before my wife Lauren gets out of bed," he said. "She just wishes I'd be finished and that when I come back I will not run nearly as much because it does take a lot of time. My biggest week ever has been 80 miles.

"I have lost 20 lbs. I used to weigh 175 lbs and I used to go to the gym and lift weights. I have stopped doing that and now I'm 155. I think when I'm finished running this much I will go back to the gym."

Mr. Mowbray, who is originally from Kamloops in British Columbia, hopes to raise $5,000 for two dog rescue charities in the US and is matching the first $1,000 with his own money.

He and his wife support the SPCA and have a Yorkshire terrier, three-year-old Higgins. "He's special needs because he has liver disease. One of the rescues I work with specialises in liver-compromised dogs."

Mr. Mowbray will travel to Ouarzazate, the nearest city to the start line on Wednesday in time to begin running on April 4 along with about a thousand participants. "I'm not in it to win it, I'm in it to finish it," he said.

• To sponsor Mr. Mowbray e-mail grant.mowbray@bm.butterfieldgroup.com. Read about his progress at http://grantmowbray.blogspot.com/

For more information about the Marathon des Sables go to www.saharamarathon.co.uk