Hedon MND hero looks set to create world record after running 30 marathons in 30 days

An East Yorkshire man is hoping to create a new Guinness World Record after completing an astonishing feat nobody has done before - running 30 marathons in 30 days with no breaks.

Mike Humphreys from Hedon, ignored agonising blisters to run the concurrent marathons in 30 different European countries finishing with a homecoming marathon in Hull on Tuesday. He was able to press on despite the pain due to his mission to raise money for the MND Association and his good friend Craig Eskrett who was diagnosed with motor neurone disease last year.

Speaking to Hull Live after finishing his final marathon, he said: "To be honest it was a really tough struggle. I'd never run a back-to-back marathon so 30 back-to-back marathons was absolutely outrageous for me to be taking on.

"I wanted to make such a crazy challenge that people would be talking about it and almost every person was doubting that I could do it so I thought maybe I could bring more light to the cause which is raising money for MND and supporting my friend Craig who has been diagnosed with MND.

"I just got through it by thinking of the cause and thinking of my friend Craig who is battling MND and that got me through the dark places when I was struggling. I suffered a lot with bad feet, bad blisters and aches and pains all over the legs but it was just a case of getting up every day and getting though it."

Mike said his resolve was also strengthened by thinking of another friend, Carl Giblin, from Bilton, who tragically lost his life to MND in 2017. "I witnessed that and having another friend be diagnosed... that's when I vowed I would stand by Craig and wanted to do something crazy to support him," he said.

He added: "Craig is fighting an absolutely awful disease which is MND and it has currently got no cure so if he is struggling with MND there is nothing we can struggle with which is worse than that. It motivates me to keep going and make a difference."

The 30 marathons in 30 days challenge was further complicated by Mike having no driver or support team in the first 10 days. Incredibly, he was able to drive himself from country to country throughout the first third of the challenge, which he admitted was incredibly difficult.

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Mike is hoping the record will soon be official and added: "I'm just compiling the evidence with Garmin and Strava and the videos and hopefully we can send that off to the Guinness World Records and it should be a world first and world record to be honest."

Mike can be followed on Instagram at @mikeyhumph where he shares information about the challenge. His GoFundMe page for the MND Association is still accepting donations and so far has raised more than £24,000.