SCC’s Manchester-based ultra athlete Alex Welch has made history setting a new course record, claiming victory in the 2025 Beyond the Ultimate Desert Ultra – a five-day, 250km race across the ancient Namib Desert, one of the world’s most extreme endurance environments.
The race saw Alex, 29, overcome punishing daytime temperatures peaking between 53–58°C and near-freezing nights. Renowned as one of the planet’s oldest and harshest deserts, the Namib tested competitors with relentless sand dunes, energy-sapping scrubland, and vast exposed plains where heat radiates from every direction.
Alex, who became the youngest-ever winner of the Beyond the Ultimate Arctic Ultra earlier this year and secured a podium finish in the Mountain Ultra in Kyrgyzstan, delivered another extraordinary performance in Namibia – winning the race and setting a new course record.
Across five stages – 50km, 50km, 42km, 22km and a brutal 92km final day – athletes were required to be completely self-sufficient, carrying all food, supplies and mandatory equipment for the full week. The field included elite female competitors too.
Alex works as a Senior Cyber Security Sales Specialist at technology solutions and services provider SCC, and lucky for Alex SCC continues to support his ultra-running journey through sponsorship, specialist kit and workplace flexibility. Alex commented: “I’m grateful for everyone who has supported me, particularly my colleagues at SCC who have backed me every step of the way.”
Adam Clark, Chief Revenue Officer at SCC, said:
“Alex continues to embrace extraordinary challenges. Following his success in the Arctic and a podium finish in Kyrgyzstan, he has now triumphed in one of the world’s most demanding environments – Namibia. His exceptional discipline, resilience and ambition exemplify the spirit of SCC, and we are incredibly proud to support him throughout this remarkable endeavour.”
SCC as a company has also had a “win” as it recently announced the availability of Cloud Migration & Security suite in AWS Marketplace. SCC customers can now discover and purchase packaged solutions tailored to specific use cases that combine multiple products and services to help them migrate, adopt, and secure their AWS Cloud deployments.
Jean-Philippe Barleaza, Head of EMEA Software at SCC commented:
“By offering our Cloud Migration & Security suite in AWS Marketplace, we’re making it easier for customers to accelerate their cloud journey. Bringing together multiple products and services in a single, pre-packaged solution allows customers to simplify procurement, speed up deployment, and unlock more value from their AWS investment.”
