THE 126-mile crossing of the Sahara and the 300-miles, there and back, along California’s Death Valley, were not as tough as Sunday’s Singapore marathon – a mere 26 miles – according to Jersey’s Maria de Jesus.

The 39-year-old Jersey Spartan member and Island Games medallist returned to the Island yesterday morning from the gruelling race, having finished in 3 hours 31 minutes, in a tremendous 138th place overall – the 21st woman to cross the line and, subject to confirmation, second veteran woman.

Some 4,700 runners finished behind her.

De Jesus, who returned to running in 2002 just months after she had recovered from serious head injuries following an accident, was running as part of the Standard Chartered Jersey Team who are attempting the Greatest Race on Earth, in which each of the four team members compete in a marathon ‘relay’ – in Nairobi, Singapore, Mumbai and finally Hong Kong – with their total times added together for a final placing.

‘The Singapore race was the most horrendous thing on earth.

It was very, very tough,’ de Jesus said.

‘We started in temperatures of 32 degrees, at 6 am, and temperatures went up to around 34 degrees.

But the heat wasn’t the problem, it was the humidity.’ That was at almost 96 per cent and in those temperatures, trying to make and maintain any speed is a feat of supreme endurance – and de Jesus was among 21,000 runners taking part.

‘We started the marathon race at 6 am, but there were other races going on too, so they started the half-marathon at 6.30 am so we didn’t clash,’ she said.

‘It was a flat course – it’s so hard to explain it – but with the tremendous heat and humidity they had set up water stations every two kilometres and you just had to grab it and take on as much as you could.

There were so many people having to give up, they just couldn’t go on.

I just kept going, and was thinking I’ll never even do a half-marathon distance, never mind get to the end.

But I did – and I was only four minutes slower than Rob Douglas when he did the Nairobi race – I’d hoped to beat it but I just couldn’t.

‘It was really hard – in the desert you get used to the heat, but the shorter, more powerful marathon distance is hard.’ Undaunted, though, she is ready for her next challenge – to compete in all four Greatest Race marathons next year – and to try and break through the 2 hr 55 min barrier.

De Jesus has raised money for two charities with her epic run in Singapore, and thanked all who sponsored her.

Money raised will go to Seeing is Believing and the Jersey Epilepsy Association The 2005 Greatest Race onEarth continues next month, with the Mumbai marathon on 15 January, to be run by Jersey team member John Cunningham.

Gerry Toudic is busy preparing for the Hong Kong challenge in February.