A MUM and businesswoman who has battled chronic asthma since childhood is preparing to run the toughest race on the planet.

As one of only two UK women to take on the famed Marathon des Sables in April next year endurance athlete Hayley White aims to fly the flag for her town and country.

The extraordinary feat will see the 39-year-old run 155 miles in six days, the equivalent of almost six marathons, across the inhospitable Sahara Desert.

"It's the toughest race on the planet and as someone who's utterly endurance mad I have to do it," said Hayley, who lives with husband Andy and six-year-old son Freddie in Charles Avenue, in Davenham.

"It's my 40th next year so for me, the way I am, I can't think of anything better to celebrate than doing that."

The Marathon des Sables is open to just 1,000 competitors from across the globe, with between 250 and 300 chosen from the UK.

Athletes not only run the distance over dunes, salt flats and rocky terrain in fierce temperatures, they also have to carry all of their food and survival equipment for the six days.

"I'm not for a minute thinking this is going to be a breeze – it's not – but it really excites me as well," Hayley said.

"I'm never going to make the Olympics, I'm too old, but I can definitely fly the flag for the UK."

Hayley, who grew up in Winsford and went to school at Woodford Lodge High School, works as a personal trainer who specialises in rehabilitation for people with medical conditions and also ultra endurance athletes.

Her training so far has included a non-stop 56-mile run, carrying a pack, in the Peak District, and running in Turkey.

"I would pick a hill or mountain and run up and down it," she said.

"I very quickly adapted to it – at first I could do it four or five times but by the end of two weeks I'd be up and down the same mountain 30 times."

As well as the physical demands of the challenge, there are also major financial implications as the entry fee is £4,000 and additional costs are around £6,000 for relevant equipment and insurance.

"Even though it's costing me a small family car it's a big bucket list tick for me," she said.

It is also a natural follow on from the list of events that Hayley has faced as she defeats her asthma.

"From three to 18, as much as I loved sport and participated, I always suffered – my asthma would always stop me and I was always poorly," she said.

"At 18 I thought 'I don't want to carry on like this' and I started building up my fitness."

She went from running 400 metres to a mile and upwards, taking part in the Race for Life then marathons, triathlons and iron man events.

"If I don't run or keep fit my asthma gets a little bit bothersome so for me being fit is my medicine," she said.

Hayley is being supported by a number of Northwich firms, including Specsavers, who have given her performance sunglasses, MyProtein, who are supplying nutrition, Northwich Rugby Club, which has funded her rucksack, U Lock It, which has provided her hat and running gear, and Illoom Balloon, which has provided her head torch and survival gear.

"I've specifically gone for local companies because I want to give something back and put Northwich on the map," she said.

She is also raising money for The Christie as her mother-in-law is fighting myeloma, a rare form of cancer.

To sponsor her visit justgiving.com/hayley-white40