GAZETTE & HERALD: A mother of two from Stanton St Quintin will be taking on a mighty physical challenge when she joins the 2005 Marathon de Sables, a 150-mile race in searing heat across the Sahara Desert.

Superwoman Trudi Knight, 43, will be joining Tommy White, 27, from Castle Combe, and Ross Spackman, 25, from Bristol, in the seven-day endurance race, when they hope to raise thousands of pounds for he National Autistic Society.

Mr White and Mr Spackman are both third year medical students at Bristol University and Mrs Knight is an ex power-lifter.

They will set out in April for Morocco to compete in the race, which attracts over 600 competitors from 25 countries.

The marathon has six legs, the longest of which is 50 miles, and will take the runners across some of the harshest terrain on the planet including huge dunes and rocky flats all in intense heat.

Midday temperatures soar to 120F and plummet to close to freezing at night. The runners will also have to carry all the food and equipment they need for the whole event except water.

Mr White said they wanted to raise £10,000 for the autism charity, inspired by his younger brother Joshua, aged six, who has an autistic spectrum disorder.

The team is already training hard, getting in ten hours and running around 60 miles a week, which will rise to 100 miles a week in the lead-up to the race.

Mrs Knight said she was not intimidated by the prospect of running alongside two young men because she relishes the challenge and hoped her efforts would inspire other women.

"It will be a great adventure and I can't wait to do it," she said.

"I used to be a body builder and spent a lot of time in the gym. I enjoy the prospect of doing something extreme and pushing my body to the limit."

Mrs Knight, a former nurse, has two teenage children and works in sales for a drugs company, but still manages to find the time to train.

Anyone wishing to sponsor the team should email sponsorship@teamextreme.org.uk.