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Gravesend man runs distance of Land's End to John O'Groats in 32 consecutive days for ellenor hospice

A performance coach ran 874 miles in 32 consecutive days, clocking up the equivalent distance of Land's End to John O'Groats.

Lux Sangha, 53, took on the mammoth challenge to help raise money and awareness for Gravesend-based hospice charity ellenor.

Lux after completing his fifth marathon. Picture: Lux Sangha
Lux after completing his fifth marathon. Picture: Lux Sangha

It provides hospice care and support to families of people of all ages facing terminal and life-limiting illness in Kent.

The distance Lux ran is the equivalent of running from Lands End to John O' Groats and saw him complete a marathon every day.

Lux, of Pelham Road, Gravesend, is now aiming to raise more money for the charity after he completed the feat.

It all began when he originally planned to take part in the 20 in 20 challenge, hosted by Saxons, Vikings and Normans Marathons and Challenges, which sees avid runners take on 20 runs in 20 days.

Participants could run whatever distance they liked - whether it was a 5k, 10k, or less. Lux opted to do 20 back-to-back marathons.

Lux had numbered bibs made from 1 to 32 to represent each marathon. Picture: Lux Sangha
Lux had numbered bibs made from 1 to 32 to represent each marathon. Picture: Lux Sangha

However, after picking up a foot injury during his two month training regime over the summer, Lux missed the official event on August 20 while he recovered.

Determined to still take part and raise money for the charity, he did his own virtual event between October 17 and November 17.

He said: "It was tough. The first five days were the hardest as I'd been recovering for a while.

"Knowing what I was doing it for and the charity I was raising money for was a massive motivator for me.

"A friend of mine had terminal cancer and passed away in May, and she was looked after by ellenor, which was why I chose them.

A medal given to Lux by a friend for completing the impressive feat. Picture: Lux Sangha
A medal given to Lux by a friend for completing the impressive feat. Picture: Lux Sangha

"It really pulled me through the tough times when I felt like giving up. The weather was really bad as well, it was very challenging."

After injuring his heel, Lux planned on scaling back to do five marathons instead of the initial 20 but dug deep and once he started, he didn't stop.

He said: "From there on I just kept going, just kept telling myself to do one more, with no intention of doing 32 marathons. I did around 27.2 miles each day.

"It was only when I spoke to a friend around the 20 marathon mark that I realised I must be close to running the Land's End to John O' Groats distance, so that was my new goal."

Lux completed the challenge by using the three mile cycle route outside the Cyclopark just off the A2 at Gravesend.

The fundraiser currently totals £225, and Lux hopes to push it to more than £1,000.

To donate, click here.

Read more: All the latest news from Gravesend

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