TEMPERATURES reached a sweltering 52 degrees Celsius - 126 degrees Fahrenheit - when three firefighters took part in the Marathon Des Sables, the toughest footrace on Earth.

The 243 kilometre run through the Sahara Desert in Morocco was described as “agony”, with the three Malpas firefighters running past race casualties being fed through drips after collapsing from dehydration.

Steve Nelmes, 37, who lives in Blaenavon, Mike Paul, 41, from Malpas and Paul Simmons, 38, from Abergavenny, flew out for the race on April 1, along with 1,083 competitors from 43 countries.

The race involves six days, running 25, 34, 38, 82, 42 and 22 kilometres over rocky, barren land, salt flats, hills and sand dunes.

Competitors carry their own equipment, with the Gwent men lugging their 16kg packs, that contained sleeping bags, clothes, washing equipment, plus nuts, Haribo sweets and pork scratchings, that provided them with 4,000 calories per day.

Mr Simmons said: “Me and Steve got blisters pretty early and I lost all my toe nails. We took trainers two sizes too big, but by the fourth day my feet were too swollen and I couldn’t get in them.”

The blisters completely changed their journey, with Mr Nelmes adding: “We were on painkillers and it was hard enough to put one foot in front of the other. We had to switch off and go to a special place in our heads just to get through the agony.”

While walking the route slowly, it at least gave them a chance to talk to other competitors from countries like Japan, Sweden and New Zealand.

They received one and a half litres of water every 14 kilometres and Mr Paul said: “We were climbing up the dunes and people were lying there with medics squeezing liquid into them through drips.

“One guy had five litres pumped into him at one point and then three litres 14 kilometres on, before he was forced to drop out.”

Every night, competitors queued at Doc Trotter’s medical tent, listening to “screams and crying”, as blisters were treated with scalpels and iodine.

Mr Nelmes called it a “rollercoaster of emotions”, adding: “We were recognised throughout as we had our three Welsh flags on poles. When we saw the finish line, Mike gave an ‘oggy, oggy, oggy’ and everyone waiting there erupted.”

Mr Simmons lost nearly a stone while the others lost half a stone.

All three have served in the armed forces, but admitted it was the hardest thing they’ve ever done.

Their effort is on target to raise £20,000 for the Firefighters Charity.

Joel Bramwell, 34, from Newport, also completed the race and raised £5,500 for the Royal Variety Club of Great Britain.

"With water rationed, it was a test of survival," he said. "Running in that heat was absolutely brutal and I'm glad to be home where it's cooler."