Scotland to Morocco - Running all the way!
Hawick doctor Andy Murray plans to set a world record by running from Scotland to over 3,000 miles in 85 days!
The 30-year-old aims to make as many headlines across the world as his tennis namesake by running more than 30 miles a day from John O'Groats, Scotland to Merzouga, Morocco on January 27.
Andy is trying to raise £25,000 for the Mongolian poverty charity “The Yamaa Trust”, after seeing the healthcare standards and living conditions on a visit last year. “These people need new housing and just about everything else.”
The grueling charity challenge, which begins on November 8, will see the Aberdeen GP complete eight miles MORE than a marathon every day for nearly three months.
He will then pass through England, France and Spain before finishing in Morocco on the 27th of January next year.
As he passes through England, France and Spain the temperatures will be keep increasing daily right up until he hits up to 45°C (113°F) in the Sahara.
Andy admits his Scotland-to-Sahara adventure is the biggest challenge of his life and his preparations are as brutal as the journey that awaits him.
He plans to run a whopping 100 miles every week until the day his expedition begins.
Japan's Akinori Kusuda, 65, ran the 26.2-mile distance 52 days in a row last year to claim the Guinness World Record for the most marathons run on consecutive days. When Andy achieves his amazing feat the world record will belong to him.
To stay in the zone, Andy has to eat a whopping 6,000 calories a day – That’s over a 1,000 MORE than the daily intake of a top Olympic athlete.
Andy: "It would be amazing to be the benchmark for marathon running. I'm not at that stage yet though so I need to keep focused on getting the job done."
With his goal in mind last weekend, he shattered the record for running the length of Hadrian's Wall by finishing the 84-mile stretch in 16 hours and 59 minutes, that’s 3 hrs faster than previous holder Jon Watts.
Andy said: " I will carry my food, juice, waterproofs, Vaseline, painkillers, passport and money. It'll be tough, but there's just no way round it. In Spain and Morocco I'll have to run with a sledge because of the sand."
Andy has been taking running tips from marathon man Mark Cooper, 27, ran 50 marathons in 56 days - 1,310 miles from Holland to Spain - earlier this year. The pair also teamed up for the Hadrian's Wall run.
Perhaps Copper summed it up best when he said, “This is a major effort, but I know Andy will ace it like does everything else."
