It was a striking picture. But it was only half the story.

The other half — the sand, the heat, the 270 kilometres, the finish line — has now arrived.

The photos from the race itself show what words can only approximate: two people, father and daughter, somewhere deep in the Sahara Desert, doing something most people would never attempt once. For Joe, it was his fourth Marathon des Sables. For Maia, her first. They finished side by side, placing 195th out of 1,435 competitors, with Maia becoming the fastest British woman in the race and Joe the second fastest British finisher in the over-50 category.


The images capture moments from across the week — the brutal Long Day, the dunes, the quiet kilometres where nothing needed to be said. They are, in their own way, the parts of the story that couldn't be written.

Joe and Maia completed the race in support of Medical Aid for Palestinians, raising more than £35,000 for the charity. Donations are still being accepted at www.justgiving.com/page/mountainduoformap