Coventry man running length of UK for charity
23 year-old James Norman wants to raise money for charity
Last updated 15th Apr 2024
A man from Coventry is running the length of the UK in 74 days to be able to tell "a good story for the grandkids".
James Norman, 23, set off from Land's End in Cornwall on March 30 with the aim of reaching John O'Groats in Scotland in around two and a half months, covering 874 miles.
Mr Norman was also inspired to take on the feat by Russ Cook, a British man who ran the full length of Africa, crossing the finish line in Tunisia on Sunday.
He said: "I genuinely thought this would be a good story for the grandkids and if I'm ever going to do something like this, it's now while I'm young and I'm able to do it.
"I've also had some inspiration from Russ Cook and I thought that's such an amazing challenge and I wanted to do something on a bit of a smaller scale and see what it is like."
He has been documenting his journey on TikTok, taking his 8,500 followers along with him on each day of the challenge.
Mr Norman added that he has "never run a marathon in my life" and he hopes his challenge will show others that "you can achieve anything, no matter how qualified".
With his venture, Mr Norman is fundraising for Tearfund, a Christian charity which partners with local churches with the aim of tackling poverty.
The 23-year-old, who is a Christian, said: "Their cause is really close to my heart and I really believe they are doing such wonderful work and distributing the money properly."
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