Sir Ranulph Fiennes becomes oldest Brit to complete Marathon des Sables

Veteran adventurer Sir Ranulph Fiennes has completed the Marathon des Sables to become the oldest Briton to complete the six-day ultra-marathon in the Sahara.

The 71-year-old, who crossed the finish line in Morocco at 19:37 BST after running 256km in temperatures in excess of 50C, was almost forced to pull out owing to heart problems caused by the physical exertion, the BBC reported.

The Exmoor-based explorer ran for 10 hours during the final stage of what has been dubbed "the toughest footrace on earth."

After crossing the finish line, Fiennes said that he didn't feel good and his back was bad, but since he had had a load of pain killers, it was less difficult.

He added that he never thought he wouldn't make it but there were points where he thought the camels, which walk at the rear sweeping up those who are too slow, were getting dangerously close.

Fiennes, whose challenged raised nearly 1m pounds for the cancer charity Marie Curie, also thanked those who had donated to his cause.

There were fears that the veteran explorer, who suffered two heart attacks and underwent a double heart bypass in 2003, may not finish the event after the 91km fourth stage, which saw him run for more than 30 hours on just one hour of sleep. He described that penultimate day's walk as "more hellish than Hell."

Jane Collins, chief executive of Marie Curie, congratulated and thanked Fiennes for the incredibly difficult physical and mental challenge, proving that with sheer determination, anything is possible.

Collins noted that his never failing commitment to finish the race and raise as much money as possible has simply been fantastic and they hope he inspires others to take on their own challenge for Marie Curie and help them care for more people living with a terminal illness.