Man runs for 24 hours straight to raise money for charity

By Barney Riley via SWNS

A man who sees himself as just a 'regular bloke' has managed to complete a non-stop charity run - covering 106 miles (171km) in 24 hours - to raise money for charity.

Property valuer Mitchell Carlyle, 22, started the challenge at the AUT Millennium athletics track at 9 a.m. on November 12 and finished the following day.

Seventeen other runners took part, but only nine managed to complete the event in Auckland, New Zealand.

Mitchell covered the distance of four marathons back to back and an equivalent of 220,000 steps.

The number one finisher covered 214 kilometers (132 miles), the equivalent of five marathons back to back.

If a 24-hour non-stop run wasn't mad enough, Mitchell has taken on the challenge to run every day for 10 years to raise funds for various charities.

He said: "I've run marathons and a couple of ultramarathons in the past, but wanted to push myself further than I've done before.

"I like preparing for, and accomplishing big things, and this felt like a challenge I had to at least attempt.

"I am somewhat competitive. I run for an athletics club and ran my first marathon in two hours 50 minutes or so, and will be looking to drop that time in the future."

Mitchell started training for his 24-hour run two months before taking on the challenge.

He added: "Leading up to the race I had been running every day for roughly 515 days. However, I really only started training for this distance two or so months out from the race.

"I also had my marathon two weeks prior which was good for preparation. Outside of training, I spent many hours figuring out the logistics of a race like this.

"For example, what was I going to eat, drink and use throughout the race? I had the gear to prevent any kind of issue that could come up, such as cramps, blisters and chafing."

Mitchell said the first 12 hours of the run were easy compared to the latter half.

He added: "I think the main reason for this was knowing how much time I had ahead of me. So I did not allow myself to feel sore or upset in the first 12 hours of running, knowing I would have to face real pain later on."

After completing the 24-hour run, he had to continue running every day as part of his 10-year challenge, which affected his recovery.

Mitchell said: "The recovery was painful, mostly because I had to keep up my running streak for the days after. Running the day after doing 171km is not fun at all.

"Now that it has been over a week, however, I feel great and am at about 90% capacity.

"I didn't get any serious injuries, just soreness overall and a large blood blister that is still very visible."

Mitchell has a fundraising target of $100,000 and has so far reached $721, but his friends and family are behind him and encouraging him.

Speaking on their reaction to his race, he said: "They were all impressed that I stuck it out and completed the full 24 hours.

"I'm grateful for their support because I don't think I would have been able to finish the race without such an amazing support crew, who stayed up through the night to help and encourage me.

"I hope I have inspired them to rethink what is possible."