THE RUNNING MAN

It’s no surprise that Mike Buss is called ‘The Running Man’. On 24th September 2010 the ex-soldier completed a marathon (that’s 26 miles and 385 yards or 42.195 km) in 4 hours and 49 minutes. Mike set a new world record with this achievement. It was his 100th marathon in 100 consecutive days. Did he wear lightweight running gear for this last marathon? No, he didn’t. He wore a pair of boots and he carried a 40-pound-rucksack.

Over the 100 days, Mike travelled through 19 towns across the south of England. The 2620 miles that he ran was equivalent to running around the coast of England, Scotland and Wales. At the end of the final challenge, Mike even had the energy to sprint across the finishing line at a speed of 7.5 miles / hour and finish the marathon at exactly 12.30 pm.

This wasn’t Mike’s first world record. In the same year, he broke the world record for running the longest distance on a treadmill in seven days; 517.25 miles or 832.255 km. During that time, he had two hours of sleep a day and stopped for short times to eat and drink. How much weight did he lose? 8 pounds and 2 ounces. That is over 6 kilos.

So why does he do it? Many people run marathons to raise money for charity and Mike is no different. He decided to start running when he left the army and every year he raises tens of thousands of pounds for charities that help British soldiers and their families.