Skip to content

Man completes 30 marathons in 30 days

Mike Humphreys Mike has a think brown beard and short-hair the same colour. He is euphoric with both his hands outstretched running in a packed stadium.Mike Humphreys
Mike Humphreys celebrates completing his fundraising challenge at the MKM Stadium in Hull

A personal trainer who has run 30 marathons across Europe in 30 days to raise awareness of motor neurone disease (MND) has described the challenge as a "rollercoaster".

Mike Humphreys, 33, finished his final race on Saturday in Hull, amassing a total of 1,287km (800 miles) since starting on 4 October in Barcelona, Spain.

He took on the mammoth task after losing his friend Carl Giblin to the condition in 2013 and while helping another, Craig Eskrett, who was diagnosed in 2023.

Mr Humphreys said: "Some of the days I really struggled emotionally and physically. When I was in those dark places I just felt like Carl was looking down on me. It's got me to the finish line."

Mike Humphreys Mike is stood with his left arm around the shoulder of his friend Craig Eskrett. Mike is wearing a white T-shirt with company names and logos on acting as sponsors. He has a black goatee beard and swept-back hair. Craig has a burgundy Hull KR hoodie and has short dark hair. The pair are stood in front of a row of shops and looking into the cameraMike Humphreys
Mr Humphreys says he struggled on some days but thinking of his friend, Craig Eskrett, who has MND, helped him "get through it"

He added: "It's been a rollercoaster for the last 30 days."

Mr Humphreys, from Hedon in East Yorkshire, has raised more than £22,000 for charity, smashing his £10,000 target within days of starting the challenge.

He said the back-to-back marathons had a tough start as he was running solo and without a team for the first 10 days.

However, he later received help, including from a school friend living in Slovenia who provided board and lodgings for the night.

"If I had a support team I'd have been able to get dropped off and start the marathon, but because I was on my own three hours later I was still not starting the marathon, so everything got delayed and some nights I ended up running well up to midnight."

Mike Humphreys Woman standing next to Mike holding a phone up while taking a selfie. They are in a crowd of peopleMike Humphreys
The personal trainer, who was running back-to-back marathons for the first time, says he was overwhelmed by support

He said there had been difficult days where "my legs couldn't take it but I just remembered the cause and running for my friend Craig".

Among the highlights were the supporters on route including a first-time marathon runner in Germany who has "become a friend for life".

Mr Humphreys said he was overwhelmed by the amount of support from people cheering him as he completed his final marathon at the MKM Stadium ahead of a Hull City game.

"It was unreal," he said.

"I think there was over 80 people running the last five kilometres (3.1 miles) with us - I had people from Middlesbrough, Cambridge, South Shields, Birmingham and they travelled hours to come and join the last run, which was just really overwhelming and it was really special."

He said the final marathon was made all the more spectacular with a victory lap followed by a match ball presentation "which was amazing".

Listen to highlights from Hull and East Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here.

More on this story