In the closing hours of 2022, a Brit achieved the crazy goal he set for the year: raising £1million for the fight against cancer by running 365 marathons in 365 days.
Gary McKee, 53, ran his 365th marathon of the year in winter rain on Saturday, 15,330 kilometers, greeted by a small crowd of supporters not far from his home.
But the father of three, who lives in Cleator Moor in north-west England, only reached his financial goal a few hours later when he raised £1 million (CAD$1.64 million) in aid of the Macmillan Cancer Support Association. The counter climbed again on Sunday.
“WOW,” he tweeted Saturday night.
Gary McKee isn’t on his first charitable challenge: he’s biked across Brazil, climbed Kilimanjaro, rowed distances the equivalent of the English Channel. He ran 100 marathons in 100 days in 2017, then 110 in 110 days in 2021.
This year it raised the bar significantly, requiring 22 pairs of sneakers. When he ran, often in the mornings before working at a nuclear waste disposal plant in the afternoons, he was joined by many anonymous people or even sportsmen like England rugby coach Kevin Sinfield.
“The streets were full of people, it was raining but everyone was cheering and shouting,” he told the BBC on arrival at his 365th marathon of the year. “I will always remember that.”
He indicated to the specialist website runnersworld.com that he was not interested in a possible recognition of his performance as a record: “What counts are not the records, but helping people”.