Endurance athlete ready to run from Beijing to London

A former soldier is preparing for what he calls "the longest run home ever" as he gets ready to run from Beijing to London in memory of his grandad.

>Jack Jarvis from from Hamble, Hampshire, will cover about 31 miles (50km) every day for eight months, crossing 18 countries, and completing the equivalent of more than 300 marathons.

>The challenge starts on Monday at Tiananmen Square and will finish at Trafalgar Square in March.

>The runner will raise awareness and funds for the charity Brainstrust, in honour of his grandfather who died from brain cancer in 2007.

>"If I want people to donate their hard-earned cash to me, I want to do something big so they feel like they're getting their money's worth," he said.

>Jarvis said he would aim to consume about 7,000 calories a day, and plans to sleep and recover in a transit van driven by friends that will be travelling alongside him on the route.

>Kazakhstan, Greece, Serbia, and France are among the countries he will have to cross on his journey home.

>The former 59 Commando Regiment soldier said the challenge "will push the limits of what's possible, physically and mentally".

>Jarvis is no stranger to pushing his body to its limits, breaking a Guinness World Record in 2022 by becoming the first person to row across the Atlantic Ocean from mainland Europe to mainland North America non-stop.

>In 2023 he was involved in a skydiving accident, which seriously injured his leg and led to more than 18 months of rehabilitation.

>"After my accident, I had to rebuild everything," he said.

>Adding that his latest fundraiser was "the ultimate test of that journey".

>Reflecting on all of his challenges, he said he had taken them on in memory of his grandfather who died from brain cancer.

>The former pub landlord from Hamble was the "life and soul of the party" Jarvis said.

>According to Brainstrust brain tumours are the biggest cancer killer of children and adults under 40 and more than 102,000 people in the UK are currently living with a brain tumour.

>Jarvis has set his fundraising target at £1m, which Brainstrust said, if achieved, would double its ability to give personalised support to 10,000 people a year.

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