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Gibraltar Doctor Completes Second Stage Of Charity Challenge

Fresh from a 250km race across the Namib Desert, Gibraltarian GP Karl Alvarez says he’s now aiming to be the first person to complete all five stages of the Beyond the Ultimate global challenge in the space of one year.

After having completed the first race in September in Kenya, Karl set off for Namibia to run in temperatures that reached 45C on the hottest days but then plummeted to 5C at night. This time, the challenges he faced were different: extreme heat and blazing sun and the additional difficulty of having to run on sand.

Widely seen as one of the toughest multi-stage running events out there, only 75 people have successfully completed the Namibia stage since its inception. Karl was among only 18 finishers out of the original 38 who started and he came fifth overall.

Karl reflects on the people brought together by this singular event. He says that the 38 participants “seemed to be running 38 different races” as they each had their own stories and motivations. He recalls a father and son running together to strengthen their bond, a married couple in their fifties and a man running for a mental health charity whose children had suffered from depression and anorexia.

Once again, a familiar problem emerged for the extreme runner: food. Karl says he’s now packing the right mix of sweet and savoury sustenance but he’s just not hungry enough to eat after a day’s running as he often feels sick from so much exertion.

“It was a tough race this time because the longest stage of all was on the final day when we had to cover 92km. We were lucky that there was some cloud cover during this final bit as it helped lower the temperature,” he said.

Although a medical and support team with water accompanies the runners, competitors have to carry all their food and conditions are, to say the least, spartan with evenings dedicated to treating blisters, injuries and ‘showering’ with one wet wipe!

As Karl emphasises, “It’s brutal…it’s about much more than running.”

Although he missed the exotic wildlife of the first stage, the desert landscape was intensely beautiful.  

Accompanied by playlists of his favourite, nostalgia-inducing music (including Gib staples like Melon Diesel and Reach), Karl says running alone across the dunes and empty expanses gave him an almost spiritual feeling.

He said: “Once you start running, the work is done and you’re subject to whatever happens - you’re in a place you’re never going to be in again and it’s almost spiritual. When you finish and start heading back home, you feel a bit blue because you go from something extraordinary to something ordinary. When you’re running in this spectacular scenery, mundane day-to-day things don’t come into play.”

His next race will be the complete opposite of the Namibian sun - he’s off to Lapland in February to run in the winter dark at -30C with snow shoes!

“It’s a huge commitment,” he admits, “but I’m lucky to have a very supportive family.”

But, despite the clear obstacles he’s faced, Karl ends by saying he’d like to inspire local runners to take on similar challenges: “Normal people, not just athletes, can do these races with plenty of preparation and training.”

Karl says he hopes to raise £5,000 for his chosen charities: SNAG and GibSams.

To support Karl, donate via his Just Giving page: https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/drkgoesbeyondtheultimate?utm_term=MdBpg78yX