by Sam Hawcroft
Hedon endurance runner Mike Humphreys is taking on one of his toughest challenges yet – running the length of South America to raise awareness of motor neurone disease.
The challenge is deeply personal for Mike, as he is doing it for his friend Craig Eskrett, who is living with the disease, and in memory of Carl Giblin, who died from it eight years ago.
Mike is now under way on the huge journey, which began at the very bottom of the continent in Ushuaia, and will see him aim to reach the northern tip of Colombia after passing through six countries.
He said he completed 50km – around 32 miles – on his first day and was back out again the following morning, despite already facing steep hills and difficult terrain.
Mike, a personal trainer, said: “I’m doing this to raise global awareness and donations for motor neurone disease.
“My friend Craig is still battling motor neurone disease after being given just three to five years to live. He’s almost three years into his diagnosis.
“I really just want to bring some hope to Craig and show him that I’ve got his back and praying there’s that vital cure or treatment around the corner.”
Mike plans to cover as many miles as possible each day, with a target of 50km a day if conditions allow. He expects the route to total roughly 11,000km, although he said that could increase because of diversions, road closures and the reality of travelling through remote parts of the continent.
His route is set to take him through Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia.
Even before the run properly got under way, the expedition had already thrown up major challenges.
Mike said he had expected to be running within a week or two of arriving in South America, but instead spent three weeks in Santiago trying to buy a camper van to live in after the first vehicle he viewed was not as advertised and had multiple faults.
He said buying a van was also far more complicated than expected, involving in-person paperwork, fingerprinting and registry office procedures.
The journey south also gave an early taste of the conditions ahead, with rough roads, potholes and boggy ground causing problems and at one stage leaving the van briefly stuck.
Mike said: “South America’s main roads are literally like a farmer’s driveway. Huge potholes, no tarmac – just bumpy, gravelly roads.”
He added that the opening section on Tierra del Fuego had already proved “very, very hilly”, which could affect his hope of running more than marathon distance each day.
As well as thinking of Craig, Mike said he was also carrying the memory of another friend, Carl Giblin. He said: “I’m constantly thinking of Carl too, as I push through the struggles.”
Mike has built a reputation for taking on unusual and punishing endurance feats in recent years, including running the Paris Marathon in ski boots, riding a Raleigh Chopper bike from Hull to the French Alps, and completing 30 marathons in 30 days across Europe.
Now, with South America stretched out in front of him, he is facing what he calls a “challenge like no other”. To follow his journey, check out Mike @mikeyhumph on Instagram.