Nurse's 13-mile daily jog to work is desert warm-up

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Zayne Crow faces temperatures of 49C, sand storms and poisonous snakes when she competes in the Marathon des Sables in Morocco this month.

Ms Crow, 33, a recovery sister, runs from East Finchley every day to start 14-hour shifts at the King Edward VII's Sister Agnes hospital in Westminster.

The veteran of 29 "ordinary" marathons will carry a 9kg backpack full of food and medical supplies when she joins 800 other runners from 32 countries at the start line on 26 March.

She said: "The combination of the heat, desert terrain and having to carry all your supplies for six days sounded perfect. I'm an adrenaline junkie.

"I've always loved adventure sports and road marathons. If I take time off to relax I get bored really quickly. My times are good but I've tried to do as little homework as possible - the more you know the more scared you become.

"You get dressed in the same clothes each day but I am going to be changing my underwear.

"They allow you to send one email a day so I'll be able to keep my friends and family updated on my progress."

Organisers keep the exact route secret until the day before the start so no one has an unfair advantage.

Contestants must complete the equivalent of five and a half marathons, with one day of 52 miles. To keep up, Ms Crow will need to reach speeds of up to 14km an hour.

Rationed water is handed out at every checkpoint. One French competitor died last year.

Ms Crow, a captain in the Territorial Army who moved to London from South Africa seven years ago, is raising money for wounded British soldiers via charity Help the Heroes.

She worked as an Army nurse in Afghanistan and Iraq in 2004 to 2005.

In October, she is returning to Iraq to work as an emergency nurse before starting a job at Chelsea and Westminster hospital. But she does have a relaxing holiday booked, trekking in the Grand Canyon.

The Marathon des Sables was founded in 1986 by Frenchman Patrick Bauer who trekked 186 miles through the Sahara. The registration price includes a "corpse repatriation fee".