Reality star Spencer Matthews runs 30 desert marathons in 30 days to smash sand run record
He made his name as something of a playboy in hit UK reality show Made In Chelsea. But now Spencer Matthews has put that image behind him – and how.
The 36-year-old entrepreneur has broken the world record for the most consecutive marathons run on sand.
He ran 30 in 30 days, covering an astonishing 1264km through the scorching Jordanian desert, from Wadi Rum to near the Dead Sea.
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His wife, model and presenter Vogue Williams, 38, ran the last few miles with him, and their children, Theodore, five, four-year-old Gigi, and Otto, two, were at the finishing line to greet him.
Speaking after his last marathon, Matthews told the Daily Mail: “I’ll go home, probably have a shower. I’m going to have a takeaway with my brother-in-law on Thursday. Can’t wait.”
Matthews said earlier that he was taking on the challenge to feel closer to his late brother Michael, who died aged 22 while descending Mount Everest after becoming the youngest Briton to ever reach the summit.
Spencer travelled to Nepal to retrace his older brother’s steps on a mission to locate his body for his Finding Michael documentary with Disney+ last year, and spoke movingly about his life in the Mail’s Everything I Know About Me podcast.
Matthews started his runs around 3.30am to avoid the average daily temperature of 38C, with the highest recorded being 44C.
Despite the strains, he insisted more extreme challenges are to come, saying: “I’m keen to crack on. I’ll absolutely go after another world record.”
He added: “The idea to do this just came to me one evening. I was sitting there and I suddenly thought, boom, this is what I want. And we just cracked on and did it. I have not had another moment like that yet, but I’d give it a couple of months.”
Matthews has been raising money for Global’s Make Some Noise charity, which supports other charities including the Childhood Tumour Trust, Suicide&Co, and education charities ATF and Playskill.
