7/10/2024–|Last updated: 10/7/202410:35 PM (Mecca time)
After Mike Humphreys ran 42 kilometers in Barcelona on Friday, the runner returned to his truck, showered quickly, and traveled 200 kilometers to Andorra, where he ran the same distance the next day. The two races were just the beginning of a massive charitable challenge that Humphreys set for himself this month: to participate in 30 marathons in 30 days in 30 different places.
“I'll be honest, this challenge is crazy,” he told Reuters from his truck in Barcelona. “My family tried to convince me not to do it many times.”
They asked him to spread out the races over 6 months or hire a support crew, but he insisted on doing it alone and in a shorter time frame.
The 33-year-old British runner, who reveals his movements on social media, is raising money to spend on research into motor neuron disease, a rare disease that affects the brain and spinal cord, has no cure and ultimately leads to death.
On his fifth day, after participating in other marathons in Cannes, France and Monaco, his page on the online charitable fundraising platform (Go Fund Me) showed that he had collected 7,790 pounds ($10,187).
Humphreys made this decision after his friend Craig Escritt was diagnosed with this disease.
Another friend of his, Karl Giblin, died of the disease in 2013, and he wanted to do something to alleviate his feelings of helplessness.
“If you can raise awareness, we can get more funding,” Humphreys said. “Hopefully there will be a cure or treatments soon.”