Manchester-based ultra-athlete Alex Welch, who works as a Senior Cyber Security Sales Specialist at technology solutions and services provider SCC, has won the 2025 Beyond the Ultimate Desert Ultra and set a record for the five-day, 250km race across the Namib Desert.
Renowned as one of the world’s harshest deserts, the Namib features an energy-sapping mix of towering sand dunes, scrubland and exposed plains and, at this time of year, daytime temperatures of up to 58°C and near- freezing nights.
The race features five stages of 50km, 50km, 42km, 22km and 92km, and athletes must carry all the food, supplies and mandatory equipment they will need over the five days.
Earlier this year, Alex became the youngest-ever winner of the Beyond the Ultimate Arctic Ultra and secured a podium finish in the Mountain Ultra in Kyrgyzstan.
