Professor set to run 5,400km for Charity

A former resident of Bognor Regis in West Sussex will attempt to run 5400km across the United States.
By The Newsroom
Published 27th Nov 2016, 14:45 BST
Updated 7th Jun 2018, 18:07 BST

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The Ashill familyThe Ashill family
The Ashill family

Dr. Nicholas (Nick) Ashill, now marketing professor at an American University in the United Arab Emirates will take on the challenge, starting in Los Angeles on 14 May 2017.

Averaging 50km/day the run will take Nick around 108 days to complete. He hopes to finish in Central Park, New York by the beginning of September. Nick will be undertaking the 5,400km run to raise funds for The Pulmonary Fibrosis Trust in memory of his mother, Barbara, who passed away from IPF in 2015. Nick will have a support crew of three people following him in an RV including his father-in-law and daughter.

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Nick is no stranger to ultramarathons after completing the Marathon des Sables race in the Sahara desert in 2014, described by the Discovery Channel as the toughest footrace on earth.

Nick notes that he has had to train differently in order to prepare himself for an endurance race of this magnitude. He says he had to spend a lot more time in the gym to build core strength. Massive hours on the feet are also critical along with a mixture of cycling and swimming. Nick admits to concerns arising from the physical strain to which he will be subjecting himself.

He said: “I really don’t know how my body and my head are going to react under the strains of running 108 50km consecutive runs and in high temperatures.”

Through the run, Nick will raise money for the Pulmonary Fibrosis Trust.

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Nick said: “Raising funds for this charity is very important to me. I want to give back by raising money to support those who need financial, emotional and practical help”.

Nick’s run seeks to raise £50,000 for the charity. A BT Donate page has been set up for donations at mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/nicholasashill1 .

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Related topics:ProfessorUnited States