Conor McCarthy, director of Investec’s corporate finance division in Dublin, is in for an extremely tough few days, beginning tomorrow.

No, he’s not trying to close a tricky deal over the Easter holidays with barely time to munch a chocolate egg. It’s even worse. McCarthy is about to embark on the equivalent of six marathons in six days, across the Moroccan Sahara.

He has signed up for the Marathon des Sables, billed as the world’s toughest foot race – more than 250km across the desert in six stages, all while carrying almost a week’s worth of food and bits and bobs on your back.

He has already raised about €15,500 for the Peter McVerry Trust, Temple Street children’s hospital, and the Marymount hospice in Cork. A nice amount, but more is always appreciated. Check out his Mycharity.ie profile, “From Iron man to Sandman”.

In his charity appeal, McCarthy describes tongue-in-cheek how he's in the midst of a "mid-life crisis". Normally, accountants and corporate financiers endure mid-life crises by splashing out on a Porsche or getting their chest waxed, not by running a half-dozen marathons in less than a week.

Best of luck, and mind those scorpions.