Briton has completed 365 marathons in 365 days

In the last hours of 2022a British man achieved the goal he set for himself that year: lifting million pounds sterling in favor of fighting cancer to run 365 marathons in a 365 days.

Gary Mackeyaged 53, ran his 365th marathon this year on Saturday, in the rain, which is a total 15,330 kilometers. Upon his arrival, he was greeted near his home by a small group of people who had come to support him.

This father-of-three living in Cleator Moor, in northwest England, reached his financial goal a few hours later, raising £1m (R$6.2m) during the last day of the year, at current rates. ), for Macmillan Cancer Support. And the group continued to increase this Sunday.

This isn’t the first charity challenge for McKee, who has already crossed Brazil by bike, climbed Mount Kilimanjaro and covered a distance equivalent to that of the English Channel. In 2017, he ran 100 marathons in 100 days, and in 2021, he managed to do 110 in 110 days.

This year, he raised the bar significantly, and for this he needed 22 pairs of sneakers. Many unknown runners and even athletes, such as England’s rugby coach Kevin Sinfield, joined his competitions, which often took place in the morning, before going to work in the afternoons at the nuclear waste processing plant.

“The streets were full of people. It was raining, but everyone was clapping and shouting,” Mackie admitted to the BBC after completing this year’s 365th marathon. “I will remember forever.”

The runner also told specialist website runnersworld.com that he isn’t interested in the eventual homologation of his achievement as a record. “What matters is not records, but helping people.”