'I'm going full David Goggins' - Yorkshire man running 30 marathons in 30 days in 30 countries for MND

Mike Humphreys, 40, is taking on the challenge - which will see him complete 786 miles overall - to raise money for the Motor Neurone Disease Association.

On October 4 Mike will be setting off to Barcelona, Spain, where he will run his first marathon. After that, he will head to Switzerland, Montenegro, Poland and Luxembourg - ending his 30-day challenge in his home town of Hull.

In preparation for the challenge, Mike ran the Iron Man Challenge - a long-distance triathlon - and has spent two weeks running every day.

Mike was inspired to take on this challenge after his friend, Carl Giblin, 32, died of MND in December, 2017, and his other friend Craig Eskrett, 36 was diagnosed with the disease in September 2023.

Mike, an engineer, Hull, said: "This was a brainstorm idea and was actually meant for next year. My brother suggested doing 30 marathons in 30 countries and I thought that was brilliant.

"This will be no easy feat. It's going to be a real challenge because injuries are on the line which could mess the whole challenge up."

In October, 2013, Mike's friend, Carl, was diagnosed with MND and died in December, 2017. Earlier this year, the disease struck his friend group again after his friend Craig was diagnosed with the disease September 2023.

Mike said: "The first time, Carl announced it to the lads at the football club, and we didn't know too much about it. When Craig announced it to me, it broke my heart because I knew what was coming due to me knowing more of MND. I want to make a difference now with my challenge because I felt really helpless."

This spurred Mike on to raise money for the charity and has set himself the goal of raising £10,000 for the Motor Neurone Disease Association. Mike said the inspiration for this was Spencer Matthews who recently ran 30 marathons in 30 days, through the Jordan desert.

He said: "Spencer Matthews was a huge inspiration when he did his marathons in the desert. I followed that training plan and I've done two weeks of that training. I did an Ironman in August, so I have been challenging myself."

Mike's biggest concern for the 30 day challenge is getting injured or getting stuck in traffic whilst travelling from country to country.

Mike isn't going to be taking on the challenge alone, he will be supported by his friend who will be filming the challenge.

He said: "We have converted the ban into a campervan. When I finish, I challenge, I will be jumping in the van and going from country to country. The main worries are picking up an injury and the amount of running we will be doing is a high risk.

"Ankles and knees can be a high risk as well. I also hope that the van can survive. It will be really stressful thinking about traffic and even breakdown risks. Along the way, you must enjoy the journey. You must go full send with these challenges. I'm going full David Goggins style."

List of the 30 countries:

1) Spain

2) Andorra

3) France

4) Monaco

5) Switzerland

6) Liechtenstein

7) Italy

8) Vatican City

9) San Marino

10) Slovenia

11) Croatia

12) Bosnia

13) Montenegro

14) Albania

15) Romania

16) Serbia

17) Hungary

18) Slovakia

19) Austria

20) Poland

21) Czech Republic

22) Germany

23) Luxembourg

24) Belgium

25) Holland

26) Wales

27) Ireland

28) Northern Ireland

29) Scotland

30) England