Andy Devaney
Dreams Come True will be carried into the Sahara this April not by committee, slogan or polite applause, but by one man with a pack on his back and 270 kilometres of desert in front of him. Ivor Stratford is taking on the Marathon des Sables, that famously deranged foot race across Morocco’s Sahara, to raise vital funds for the UK’s only national wish-granting charity dedicated exclusively to children living in the highest areas of deprivation.
That alone would be enough to turn heads.
Then you get to the rest of it.
The heat can buckle your judgement. The climbs are rocky and mean. The dunes roll on like an argument with no finish. Sand storms arrive without courtesy, and competitors are expected to carry what they need, sleep rough and somehow keep moving through a course that includes a 100km stage to be completed within 40 hours. It is often described as the world’s toughest foot race, which sounds dramatic until you look at it properly and realise the description may actually be underselling the thing.
For Stratford, though, this is not hardship for hardship’s sake. This is purpose with blisters.
A race that strips everything back
The Marathon des Sables has a way of reducing life to its basics. Water matters. Shade matters. Your feet matter. Every unnecessary thought is quickly exposed as a luxury. It is a race that does not care about ego, and the Sahara is not inclined to negotiate.
As he headed to the start line at the beginning of April, Stratford sounded calm, measured and aware that the desert does not read training plans.
He said: “I’m feeling pretty good. I’m looking forward to getting it done, but don’t want to wish it away.
“I feel like I’ve prepared as well as I can, while knowing there’s a lot I can’t prepare for. I’ve gone through lots of different scenarios in my head, but I know I can’t control everything. So, I’m trying to think about it, but not overthink it.”
That is probably the right attitude for a place where certainty evaporates faster than sweat.
The harder journey started long before Morocco
The more compelling part of Stratford’s story is that the real climb began years before the first sand dune. Four years ago, he was not an endurance athlete with a taste for the improbable. He was a man in deep trouble.
Just four years ago, he could barely run five kilometres and was struggling both physically and mentally.
Ivor, 34, said: “I didn’t necessarily realise it then, but I was in a bad place. I was overweight and drinking too much. I was deeply unhappy. In May 2022 my wife came home to find me on the phone to the Samaritans saying I didn’t want to be here anymore.”
There is no point dressing that up. It is a stark sentence, and it lands with the force it should. Plenty of charity stories talk about transformation in broad, shiny language. Stratford’s does not need that. It has the rare advantage of being true in a way that feels uncomfortable, precise and human.
The conversation that changed everything
The pivot came through a colleague, Gus Lambert, another supporter of Dreams Come True, who was fundraising for the 2022 London Marathon. It began with a quip and quickly became something much more serious.
He added: “I quipped that I’d love to do a marathon too. He must have gone away and talked to Dreams Come True because within 10 minutes, he came back and said ‘You’re in!’ When he told me about the charity helping children from the most social deprived areas of the country with disabilities and life-limiting conditions, I couldn’t really say no. So, that’s how the running and my connection with the charity started. That one conversation changed everything.”
And there it is. Not a grand masterplan. Not some polished moment of destiny. Just a conversation, an opening, and a man deciding to step through it.
Now 34, Stratford has been alcohol-free for four years and has completed multiple endurance events, raising thousands along the way. The fundraising target for this latest effort is £10,000, with half going to Dreams Come True and the other half to the Hospice of St Francis in Berkhamsted, which cared for his grandfather.
Why Dreams Come True matters here
The charity sits at the heart of this story for a reason. Dreams Come True supports children growing up in poverty while also living with serious illnesses, disabilities and life-limiting conditions. That combination of deprivation and profound personal challenge is not just difficult; it is brutally unfair.
Stratford understands that the miles matter, but the meaning matters more.
Ivor said: “Dreams Come True tells me how grateful they are, but I have so much appreciation and gratitude for the people there for giving me the opportunity to do that first marathon. I don’t know where I would be if that hadn’t happened.
“Now I am in a completely different place and so much of that is down to looking after myself, feeling proud of myself and doing something with a purpose.”
That last word is the hinge of the whole thing. Purpose can do what motivation often cannot. It holds when glamour disappears. And there is nothing glamorous about hobbling through the Sahara with salt on your skin and sand in places you did not know existed.
Training for heat, hurt and uncertainty
Preparation for the Marathon des Sables is not especially elegant. The British winter is not Morocco, so Stratford has had to improvise, using weighted treadmill runs and deliberately overheating to mimic desert punishment as closely as possible.
Even so, there are elements of the race you cannot rehearse. You can train your legs. You can harden your shoulders. You can work on resilience. But you cannot fully simulate the lonely arithmetic of exhaustion in a landscape that looks like the moon after a falling-out.
Still, Stratford is honest about the challenge without being romantic about it.
He added: “I’ve been obsessed with the race for years. I know there will be times when I think ‘What am I doing?’ but as soon as it’s over, I’ll probably want to go again.
“I’ll miss my wife, my dog and my home comforts, but humans are pretty good at adapting so I am hoping that after a couple of days it will start to feel almost normal. I’m also looking forward to meeting some very interesting fellow race goers. I’m sure many of them will have a tale to tell.”
That sounds about right. Ultra-endurance events tend to attract people with unusual wiring and excellent stories.
What keeps him moving when it gets ugly
When the body starts bargaining and the mind turns petulant, Stratford knows exactly where he will look for perspective.
Ivor said: “When I am doing a long run and feeling awful, I always remind myself that I have a choice. The people the charity supports don’t have a choice about the situation they are in. So, when I am in the middle of the Sahara, whinging or complaining about sleeping in the sand, I’ll remind myself to get over it and keep putting one foot in front of the other.”
There is a hard clarity to that. No syrup. No self-congratulation. Just perspective, which is often the most useful equipment a person can carry.
Lisa King OBE, CEO of Dreams Come True, said: “Ivor’s determination to take on the Marathon des Sables for Dreams Come True is truly inspiring. Challenges like this not only raise vital funds but also shine a light on the children we support every day. Thanks to supporters like Ivor, we can continue delivering life-changing dreams that bring joy, hope and confidence to children facing the toughest circumstances.”
A brutal race with a worthwhile finish line
There will be easier ways to spend a week than running across the Sahara with your life on your back. Most of them involve shade, cold drinks and sensible decision-making. But easy was never really the point here.
What Stratford is doing is bigger than endurance sport and far more interesting than macho suffering. It is a story about recovery, usefulness and the strange, stubborn way a person can rebuild a life by deciding that pain should count for something.
And that is why Dreams Come True sits so naturally at the centre of it. Not as branding. Not as backdrop. As the reason a brutal race in a brutal place might help deliver joy, hope and confidence to children who deserve all three.
To sponsor Ivor, visit: https://www.givewheel.com/fundraising/9844/marathon-des-sables-2026/
