Government Social Research
Liz Rayner
Liz Rayner, Team Leader for Poverty Research in the Social Research Division at the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) hated sports at school and, by her own admission, couldn't run. She has now clocked up two London marathons, however, and in May completed the 151 mile Marathon des Sables in Morocco, raising funds for the North London Hospice in the process.
The race takes place every year, with 600 entrants from 25 countries taking part. Competitors carry everything they need in rucksacks, prepare their own food, and are responsible for their own navigation. With Midday temperatures sometimes reaching 120 degrees Fahrenheit, dehydration is a serious risk, and about 10 per cent of runners drop out or are disqualified on medical grounds.
Liz explains: 'The combination of heat and distance plays havoc with your feet - mine were infected by the second day, and I walked most of the course on antibiotics and painkillers. I never really got used to the heat, but I had the time of my life.'
Liz, who has worked for DWP for seven years and has been a runner for four, prepared for the event by clocking 80 miles a week. She ran to work and back from her home in Alexandra Palace wearing full back pack - eight and a half miles each way - and put in at least one four to five hour session at weekends. With the desert behind her, she's now in training for a trek to the North Pole in 2006.
The North London Hospice cares for terminally ill people from the local community through its day care centre and inpatient unit, and also provides bereavement counselling. Voluntary donations, which cover 70 per cent of the hospice's costs, can be made at www.northlondonhospice.co.uk.