By Brittany Tijou-Smith

You might imagine that after running 1,865 miles in 93 days, Ross Simpson would be hanging up his trainers for a rest.

But already, the 28-year-old former Canterbury office worker is thinking of his next adventure - running around the world.

He is just back from his extraordinary feat, having set out from Canterbury Cathedral in May to run unsupported to Sicily, where his grandfather was based in the Second World War.

His remarkable effort was in aid of the Youth Cancer Trust and Save the Children.

With a tent and equipment on his back, Ross covered the equivalent of 73 marathons, battling the inevitable aches, pains and other physical and mental trauma and even sickness it would bring.

But he says the “wild” experience was what he needed to break from the tedium of working in an office.

“I had an office job with Nasons in Canterbury to try and go with the normal lifestyle, but I’m clearly not cut out for that,” he said.

The route began from Canterbury to Dover and a ferry to Calais. Then it was across France to Switzerland, around Lake Geneva and over the Alps, before descending into northern Italy.

He then ran the length of Italy, before taking the ferry from Villa San Giovanni to Messina and running across Sicily via Mount Etna to Palermo.

He encountered the blazing heat of Pompeii and the bitter winds of the Great St Bernard Pass in Switzerland, which was covered in 20ft of snow.

Now recovering back home, he said: “I have a hernia and a suspected break in my left foot, but I’m so relieved to be safe and have completed my trip. I kept my suffering in perspective, knowing that out there today teenagers and young adults are being diagnosed with cancer.”

Ross says he saw the world in a different light to how it is often portrayed in the media.

“People were really nice but the wildlife was scary at times,” he said.

In the mountains, he feared a lynx was outside his tent and in the morning found a goat leg stripped of flesh.

He was also chased by bulls, camped while surrounded by wild and aggressive pigs and was pushed from his route by a pack of feral dogs. He also had to dodge dangerous drivers.

But he also revelled in nature along the route, enjoying sunlight beaming through the forest and deer frolicking with each other on his early morning starts.

The experience, although gruelling, has inspired him to go even further and he is now considering the logistics of running around the world and writing a book about his adventure.

So far, he has raised £7,086 for the Youth Cancer Trust in Bournemouth where he went to university and £1,128 for Save the Children.

To support Ross’s good causes go to his JustGiving page.