Nathan Farrugia and Douglas Barbaro Sant yesterday returned from the Sahara desert, where they ran the 250-kilometre-long Marathon des Sables for charity.

The tanned, albeit exhausted, duo were greeted at the airport by families and friends, who had not seen them since March 31.

"The desert is an unforgiving environment and you do most of the running alone, for long stretches of time," Mr Farrugia, who finished at the 208th place, said.

Mr Barbaro Sant started the marathon with shin splints and his main aim was to finish the marathon, which he did, albeit at the 872nd place.

"We finished it, we collected €45,000. Finishing the marathon was just a small part of the rest of what we're doing" he said.

The team has a target of €50,000, which will go towards Inspire and Facing Africa.

Mr Barbaro Sant's injury didn't deter him from stopping, either: "There were a lot of people running who had far worse injuries than I had - open wounds and all that."

Events like this can also be emotionally taxing.

"The low point of the marathon was the 82-kilometre run, which took me 29 hours to finish. Looking up at the night sky and realising I still had a day of running ahead of me was quite tough," Mr Barbaro Sant said.

Mr Farrugia too had his fair share of trouble and was sick for two days.

Yet, not for one moment did they consider stopping: "I would have done it on my hands and knees if it came to that" he said.

Claudine Ancilleri, Mr Barbaro Sant's girlfriend, said the same about him, not for one second doubting he would finish the race, even though injured.

For Deirdre Farrugia, Mr Farrugia's wife of 10 years, the marathon was a commitment for the whole family. In his six-hour long training runs, she, an athlete and former sprinter on the national team, used to join him for three hours, three times a week.

Their children, Robyn, six, and Keira, three, were at the airport, carrying posters saying "We love you daddy" and "Welcome home daddy".

"We learnt a lot from it," Mr Farrugia said. "I know I will change some aspects of my life, such as the way I look at life, the way I do things, good food and appreciating the people around me."

For Mr Farrugia, the high point was "the realisation that you've done it. It's not the finish line, there you're just knackered and want to lie down.

"It's starting to hit us now that we've done this. The high point is coming through those doors, seeing your kids and your wife and coming back to what you appreciate as your normal life."

So what's next for this duo? Mr Barbaro Sant said they were discussing it on the aeroplane but he won't say anything at this stage.

Donations towards Inspire and Facing Africa can be made via www.simplygiving.org.mt/extremechallenge.