Chris Patterson is running a marathon each week for a year to raise money for Hope For Children

Ultramarathon runner Chris Patterson is nearly half way through is 52 marathons in 52 weeks challenge - and has already finished a gruelling Great Wall of China event in six hours. The 35-year-old is raising money for the international charity Hope for Children. During the Great Wall Marathon – which has been described as one of the world’s most challenging long-distance races – Chris climbed more than 5,000 steps and had to contend with steep ascents and descents amid stunning scenery. The challenges also include battling with injury and he admits he is currently ‘carrying quite a few injury issues’ but attempting to ‘work through it as best I can.’ After the Great Wall Marathon he added: I am officially broken... I’ve done a fair bit of damage. The jetsetting challenge has seen Patterson – a senior estimator with Stepnell – compete in various countries since starting the challenge in January in Anglesey. He has since run in Gran Canaria, Malta, Rome, Edinburgh and Barcelona. This is not his first eyebrow-raising fundraiser for Hope for Children: two years ago, he ran the Marathon des Sables, a 264km race across the Sahara Desert. He said, "I found myself needing another big challenge to motivate myself, so 2018 became the 52 in 52 challenge."  This weekend he competed in his 20th marathon of the year in Stockholm.

posted Monday June 4th