THE figures speak for themselves: two runners, nine days and 313 miles.

Factor in the location, the driest desert on the planet with the highest sand dunes, and you get a picture of the record-breaking challenge recently tackled by Dr Andrew Murray.

The ultra runner, who is a member of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow, finished the epic run across the Namib Desert with Edinburgh long-distance runner Donnie Campbell after a punishing schedule, covering at least the distance of a marathon every day in searing temperatures.

He says the most memorable part of the expedition wasn't the physical test, it was meeting local people and health workers to distribute medical supplied donated by Glasgow doctors.

"When you see the tears in people's eyes and when you hear the thanks from politicians and tribal leaders, it's probably more satisfying than the running," he says.

The support team of businessman Bert Jukes and Lyprinol UK ensured the runners were adequately refuelled every day. That meant about 10 litres of water and 7000 calories per person, enough to usually feed three men.

"That distance wouldn't take too long in Scotland but the fact that you are running over sand all the time just slows you right down," explains Andrew.

"It was unbelievably difficult. I have raced in deserts all over the world, in Antarctica, the Sahara and the Gobi desert. There is usually a reasonable amount of purchase you can get under foot, in terms of when you do run it doesn't feel as if you're running on sand constantly; it feels as if you're running on sand about 50% of the time.

"This run was almost entirely on sand and it was very, very soft sand. If you imagine running up sand dune after sand dune, it's completely exhausting.

"We usually run about 14km an hour but at times we were down to 3km. The dunes are the tallest in the world, up to 400m high, which doesn't sound much until you're next to them. They are huge in scale."

To get in training Andrew and Donnie did a lot of running on the Scottish hills, particularly across snowy and boggy ground.

Nothing could prepare them for the change in temperatures - from minus three degrees when they left Glasgow Airport to 36 degrees when they started the run at Luderitz in the south of Namibia.

"There was a surprising amount of wildlife. These fog clouds come over in the morning so they have jackals, hyenas, scorpions, snakes, flamingos and seals. It is surprisingly varied and beautiful from that perspective," adds Andrew.

"When you know you are taking on something that is really difficult it adds to the beauty as well."

Some of the most memorable moments of the trip were after the run when Andrew met local health workers.

Vital medical equipment was donated by GPs and hospitals via the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow to supply four clinics around the Walvis Bay area.

They could support as many as 200,000 people once they reach the hands of outreach workers.

"Although there are parts of Namibia that are relatively affluent, this isn't one of them. The nurses we met were quite clear that this is going to make a significant difference," says Andrew.

"The local health minister, the mayor of Walvis Bay and the tribal chiefs were really keen to praise the contribution of folks in Glasgow and invited us to a reception at the Namibian Parliament."

Now the bonds have been made between the two nations there is no reason that Namibia and Scotland can't help each other in their health work, according to Andrew.

"There's a real opportunity for future discussion as to how we can work together: people in Glasgow and from other parts of Scotland can not only learn from some of the amazing things that are happening in Namibia but contribute on an ongoing basis," he suggest.

"Namibia has one of the lowest life expectancies in Africa but it is on the rise. Life expectancy is very low but it is going up rapidly," he says.

"Part of the issue is that it is very difficult to reach all the communities with medical supplies because it is the second least densely populated country in the world, after Mongolia.

"HIV and Aids have had a severe impact on southern Africa, so there has been a lot of death and a lot of illness. And a lot of issues relating to young adults being taken out and leaving families behind.

"Namibia has reacted to this crisis in a positive way. It is interesting to hear the Namibian perspective as to things that could potentially be helpful in Scotland as we have quite a rural population. It's about information sharing."

He explained how he told health chiefs in Namibia about the Evening Times's successful Active 2014 campaign last year, which encouraged people of all ages and abilities to get fitter.

That was something we were able to share: talking about exercise for good health, why it is so important and how that can be achieved," says Andrew.