Basingstoke dad to travel 1,000km through Arabian sand dune

Shane Smith is set to cross the largest sand dune sea on Earth, in Saudi Arabia by walking, running and riding a fat bike.

Known as the Empty Quarter, the sand sea named Rub' al Khali holds about half as much sand as the Sahara desert.

Shane, 37, is planning to start from the west coast of the Empty Quarter, travel 1,000km through the sand sea and finish at the east coast near Bahrain.

The herculean project is set to be held in January 2024.

READ MORE: Former Basingstoke cricketer and footballer Ian Crossley dies

Engineer Shane said he is excited to take up the biggest challenge of his adventurous life.

“I'm going be training all year for it. The organisers want us to do between 80 and 100km per day until the journey is finished. So it’s going to be a big challenge.”

Shane Smith (Image: Newsquest)

The organisers claim this will be the first time such a challenge is being held as there are far few people who have crossed the Empty Quarter than have been in Space.

The Arabian sand dunes were made famous by Wilfred Thesiger, who completed an eponymous journey on the south-north axis.

There have been some modern and small forays to recreate some of these routings, but this will be the first time people will be crossing from west to east coast, according to the organisers.

Shane Smith during one of his adventure challenges (Image: Newsquest)

“It is a project that will define those who take part for the rest of their lives,” the organisers said.

“This is a very big inning – make no mistake. It will feature exceptional support functions from a convoy of the best desert drivers in the world, plus special permissions in place to undertake this mammoth foot journey.”

SEE ALSO: Weybrook Park development: Councillor David McIntyre objects to plan

As far as Shane knows, not more than three other people from around the world have signed up for the challenge.

This is not something new for Shane. In November, he crossed 300km on the Namibian desert on foot and bike five days.

In September, he was in Iceland where he did a full crossing from north to south – covering 425km in five days.

Shane Smith during one of his adventure challenges (Image: Newsquest)

“I started as a cross-country runner and my challenges just got bigger and bigger,” said Shane, when asked what drives him on.

“After each event, I just sort of hear about the next thing, then the next thing, and it gets a little bit harder or longer or more mountainous. It's just sort of ended up in this mammoth challenge. I’m doing this to find where my limit is.”

Shane is also raising money for the Scouts Association as part of his epic challenge. If you would like to contribute to his cause, go to justgiving.com/fundraising/emptyquarter1000km