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Boston Public School Teacher Leaves For 155-Mile Run Through Sahara

BOSTON (CBS) - Boston Public School teacher Liz Byron will hop a plane to Morocco Monday where later this week she will begin what is known as the toughest foot race in the world.

Byron is a teacher at the Gardner Pilot Academy in Allston.

To raise $50,000 for 30 new laptops for her kids, she is running the 155-mile ultramarathon Marathon des Sables through the Sahara Desert.

Donate: click here to go to Byron's Website

So far, Byron has raised $29,839.

It's basically 5 1/2 marathons, over six days, in 110-degree heat, with all your food and water carried on your back.

Byron says she is prepared to run the entire race on sand and rocks but the heat is something she could not train for during a Boston winter.

She says she has tried to envision the heat while training to mentally prepare for that variable.

"I'm doing this because I want to and I want to raise money for an incredible school and a bunch of kids," Byron told WBZ NewsRadio 1030. "For me, this is an opportunity to push my personal threshold both mentally and physically and I love that challenge, I thrive on it."

The Marathon des Sables begins on Sunday.

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