Max ​Calderan aiming to cross the Tropic of Cancer through the UAE

Faced with thunderstorms, no moonlight and dangerous animals in the barren landscape meant that by Sunday the Italian had only reached the reached the half way point of the 340-kilometre trek instead of completing his journey as planned.

Max ​Calderan’s trek across the Tropic of Cancer has been delayed due to bad weather. Courtesy Mauro Grigollo Photography​

DUBAI // Bad weather and unpredictable terrain have delayed desert explorer Max Calderan’s bid to cross the Tropic of Cancer through the UAE.

Faced with thunderstorms, no moonlight and dangerous animals in the barren landscape meant that by Sunday the Italian had reached only the halfway point of the 340-kilometre trek instead of completing his journey as planned.

He now expects to finish today or tomorrow. The delay is not a problem for the veteran explorer, and holder of 11 world records, who began his expedition on Friday at the Saudi border. He will finish close to the Oman border.

Nico de Corato, who is part of ​Mr Calderan’s support team, said the harsh terrain had thrown up its fair share of challenges.

“Sometimes we see the sand and we can tell if it’s soft or compact, but with this it’s been very hard to tell and unpredictable. One minute it can be compact and the next you’re up to your knees, so it’s hard to know where you have to go in terms of navigation.”

The aim to cover 70km to 90km a day has not gone to plan, Mr de Corato said. “There have been times where 10 times in an hour the vehicles have been stuck in the sand. Other times it has taken one hour to cross just one 1km.”

Mr Calderan will be able to take these problems in his stride, having completed many tough challenges. These include his Ramadan journey in 2013 when he crossed the Sinai Peninsula, walking 250km over 48 hours while fasting and stopping five times a day for prayers. He called that trip his “spiritual journey”.

Athlete Marcus Smith trained with ​Mr Calderan for expeditions across the Sahara desert in the Marathon Des Sables and most recently at Wahiba Sands.

“What Max is doing is quite literally one of the most incredible human tests I have seen,” said Mr Smith. “I am not sure people really comprehend what he will be going through. I have often met with Max and asked him how his training is going. One day he answered, ‘I am currently working on sleep deprivation – I have not slept for over two days’. Another day he had not eaten anything for over 36 hours.”

The Tropic of Cancer, also referred to as the Northern Tropic, is the most northerly circle of latitude on Earth at which the Sun may appear directly overhead at its culmination. It is not fixed, but varies over time. Mr ​Calderan crossed it in Oman in 2007, where he covered the 437km of mountains and sand in almost 90 hours.

Tom Otton has also spent time training with Mr ​Calderan for desert races in the Sahara and Wahiba Sands.

“Once you get to a certain level of fitness that many, if not all, can achieve, then the key differential is mindset. Being able to deal with the pain, the relentless feeling of being very uncomfortable is something that you have to overcome in order to do many of these extreme challenges. Training the mind takes a lot more practice than training the body.

“I know what Max puts himself through to train his mind and because of that I know he’s rock solid mentally, which is why he will achieve his goal,” said Mr Otton. “What he is going through now is something that few will ever be able to comprehend but it is a great opportunity for people to realise that you do not have to be superhuman to achieve incredible things, you just need to be focused and relentless.”

Mr de Corato said: “This is not Max’s longest challenge, and in his mind he’s always prepared for this to take longer. It’s not a race. The mission is to accomplish the crossing.”