Spencer Matthews has broken a new Guinness World Record by completing 30 marathons in 30 consecutive days completely on sand.
The former reality TV star began near Wadi Rum on the edge of the Arabian Desert, finishing the final stage of the final 26.2 mile leg on Tuesday morning near the Dead Sea.
Running on sand and only sand was part of he world record criteria, as a layer of sand over a field of grass would not qualify. All marathons had to be finished within 6 hours.
Matthews raised more than £350,000 for charity in the process, including Global’s Make Some Noise Charity, which finances grassroots projects and works with small UK charities.
Speaking to Sky News, Spencer Matthews stated that he never wanted to stop running, because people supported by the charities that he was running for “absolutely don’t deserve to be in the pain that they’re in”.
“In many cases the pain that they’re in is permanent – whereas I’m here for 30 days. Despite them being quite difficult, I will go back to my life when this is over and some of them don’t get the chance to do that”, he said. “So that really does help when times are tough because no tough time that I’m having will ever be as tough as what these people are going through”.
Spencer Matthews has completed his amazing challenge of 30 marathons in 30 days! A HUGE thank you to those who have shown their support. Every donation helps us to make sure nobody is left to face life’s toughest challenges alone. Well done Spencer, you smashed it! 🥇 pic.twitter.com/avNgkV8FXx
— Global’s Make Some Noise (@makenoise) August 27, 2024
“boiling hot”
Elaborating further, Spencer Matthews said that one unexpected difficulty from this enduring stint was the quality of camp that he would turn up to each evening in sandy Jordan, and getting between 3 to 5 hours of sleep each night due to the heat.
“[It’s] fly-infested, boiling hot, no air conditioning, sleeping on the same mat, no bedsheets, no toilets, no running water,” he said. “Again this situation is nowhere near as bad as the situation of those we’re raising money for, so I’m not looking to turn what has been a positive experience in my life, this challenge, into something negative”.
“But you asked for the lows, and it’s quite difficult to get comfortable in camp. When you’ve ran a marathon that morning, all you’re really looking for is comfort”.