A journalist who cannot work a compass is gearing up to race 243km across the Sahara Desert to raise money for abandoned dogs.

Devinder Bains, 33, who lives in Hoppers Road, Winchmore Hill, signed up to the Marathon Des Sables on a whim after seeing a video promoting the endurance race last year.

Ms Bains, who is the group head of features at Chat and Pick Me Up magazines, was offered a place in January after a fellow competitor dropped out.

She said many people train for two or three years for the race, which is known as the toughest endurance race on earth, but she has barely had three months to prepare.

Ms Bains also hurt her knee at the beginning of January, which meant that she was unable to run for the whole month and had to resort to using cross trainers to ensure she was as fit as possible for the gruelling journey.

The race, which starts on April 8, consists of seven days of navigating oneself through the desert in Morocco, in 40 degree heat.

Approximately 750 people take part in the onslaught each year, with many people dropping out along the way when they realise they are unable to cope with the harsh conditions of the challenge.

Ms Bains said: “I saw a video about it and just couldn’t stop thinking about it. It is a difficult race and I just thought 'if you can do that, you can do anything.'

“I’m looking forward to meeting some nice people and having a good time. It’ll be good to just be able to run without having to think about anything else.”

She has raised £840 towards her £3,000 target so far, which will go to All Dogs Matter, a dog rescue charity based in East Finchley.

The runner does not own a dog because she works such long hours so she says raising money for dogs is the next best thing.

The journalist, who has lived in Winchmore Hill since December, has been getting ready for the week-long stint by running with seven kilo backpacks to get used to the having to carry a bag full of food, water, first aid supplies and a sleeping bag.

She also took a trip to Wales to practise running for up to nine hours at a time and has been getting used to the prospect of the sweltering weather by practising Bikram Yoga, which is performed in 40 degree heat.

Although this is the toughest challenge Ms Bains has endured so far, she ran two London marathons – one three years ago, and one last year.

She has also ran three half marathons and one 50km marathons in February.

She said her family are extremely worried about her epic journey through the Sahara Desert, but they are also proud that she will be pushing herself to the limit for a good cause.

She admits she is a little scared about the prospect of the upcoming journey and said she is most worried about an issue cropping up which will mean she is unable to finish the race.

She said: “I am quite worried about not finishing because lots of people have sponsored me, but I am really determined. I won’t stop but sometimes there are things outside of your control, like blisters.”

She will stuff her bag full of powdered soups and dried pasta to ensure she has enough energy to finish the race.

lights by TENA are sponsoring the runner because on top of the tough conditions of the race, each competitor has to pay thousands of pounds to pay for food, equipment, and flights to Morocco.

To sponsor Ms Bains, visit her charity page by clicking here.