A DOVER restaurant owner is aiming to complete one of the hardest marathons on the planet – for the third time.

Jim Gleeson, 55, who runs Cullins Yard in the Yachting Marina, is set to tackle the notorious Marathon des Sables (MdS) in Africa in early April.

The 245 km annual marathon, split into six stages, covers the remote and parched Sahara Desert in Southern Morocco, where temperatures frequently reach over 100F (37.7C).

The dad-of-two said: "I have taken part in the MdS twice before, in 2002 and in 2004, and want to make this my third and final MdS before I am too old."

But the sweltering temperatures are not all that Jim and the 700 other competitors from across the globe will have to face. Each competitor has to carry everything they will need during the race including their food, clothing, and medical supplies.

Jim said: "It has been an amazing experience both times, although physically and mentally challenging, but I am secretly looking forward to experiencing the sachets of dried food, blisters and soaring temperatures again."

Jim is no stranger to testing his body to its limits, after having completed the London, New York, Berlin and Paris marathons, an IronMan triathlon in Switzerland and an ultra-marathon in the Amazon rainforest.

His most recent challenge, in 2011, was cycling from Land's End to Dover in five days along with seven others, to raise money for Help for Heroes.

He is currently training for the marathon by "running every chance I get."

Jim, from Castle Avenue, is hoping to raise £5,000 for the Facing Africa – Noma campaign which helps children suffering with cancrum oris – an acute gangrenous infection of the face.

He is just under the £2,000 mark, and admits "I still have some way to go yet to reach my target."

To sponsor Jim log on to www.sponsorjim.co.uk or or visit Cullins Yard.