Grantham man completes ‘virtual’ run across UK

A man has ‘virtually’ ran the length of the UK.

In a bid to get fit and improve his perseverance, Georgio King, from Grantham, ran 1,407km - the length of Land’s End to John o’ Groats - across the year.

After beginning on January 1, he completed his last 5km in a parkrun on Sunday, December 15.

“I am quite sporadic with a very short attention span, so I started this challenge because I needed a goal for my mental health,” said Georgio.

He added: “I wanted to be more consistent and persistent.

“I have always been into fitness, as I used to do triathlons. However, running has been one thing I wasn’t ever really into.

“Also, I have put on a lot of weight since doing triathlons, so when I tried a 5km, it was quite difficult.

“I said to myself, I need to be more fit and in control of my weight.

“The challenge was all about consistency and persistency for me, I wanted to create a pattern for myself.”

Georgio started by running 20km a week, and then built this up to 25km, then 30km and between 35km and 40km a week.

Georgio said: “When I started this challenge, I was running in 0 degrees and I’ve ended it in 0 degrees.

“So, I would say the start and end have been the hardest. I was also running out in a thunderstorm, and then 35 degrees during the summer.”

Georgio hopes his challenge will inspire someone else if they have a similar goal to him.

He added: “It’s not a brag, but I really hope this will inspire someone.

“I am not a running type person, I am a 110kg 6ft rugby player!

“I would say to anyone who is a beginner or intermediate runner, this is a really good way to get better at running.

“The inspiration gave me the vision, perseverance gave me the ability and consistency gave me the goal.”

In 2025, Georgio plans to swim 350km virtually, equivalent to the length of the River Thames.