Two Maltese men will face 250 kilometres of sand as they run across the Sahara over six days in one of the world's toughest races in April.

Nathan Farrugia and Douglas Barbaro Sant will be taking part in the 25th Marathon des Sables, renowned as being the toughest foot race on earth, with the aim of raising €30,000 for Inspire and the UK charity Facing Africa.

Mr Farrugia said they were not sure if they would finish the race because they were not ultra-distance runners, the breed of athlete that relishes this kind of race. However, their intention was to complete the race, which has a 20 per cent failure rate and in which two people have died throughout the last years.

Prior to the race, Mr Farrugia and Mr Barbaro Sant would have only trained for three months. Usually, a race like this requires more months of training but since they will be stepping in at the last minute filling for two participants who dropped out, they are now training twice daily.

The Marathon des Sables is split into six stages, ranging from 20 to 91 kilometres in length, and competitors have to pace themselves to run each section of the race within a certain timeframe or face disqualification, all this while carrying a rucksack including food, a stove, clothes, a sleeping bag and other paraphernalia in temperatures rising to 52˚C.

Facing Africa is a UK-based charity that helps victims of Noma, a disease that disfigures the faces of the 10 per cent who survive it. The charity's aim is to sponsor facial reconstruction surgery for the severely disfigured victims by sending European medical teams to Africa, where the operations can be done at a fraction of the price.

To help the team reach its €30,000 target, one can a text message with bearing the letters MDS to 5061 8080 to donate €4.66, 5061 8926 to donate €6.99 and 5061 9215 to donate €11.65. or visit www.simplygiving.org.mt/extremechallenge or send a cheque addressed to: Inspire to Marathon des Sables, c/o Inspire - the Foundation for Inclusion, BLB801 Bulebel, Żejtun ZTN 3000.

The team will be sponsored by Alberta.