British amateur athlete, Kevin Carr, set three remarkable goals for himself back in July 2013 when he began his incredible odyssey around the world. Pushing a kart holding more than 150% of his own body weight, Kevin ran across several continents, facing wild animals and extreme elements, all without the support of a team. Kevin had the support of many sponsors such as inov 8 and Snowsled, but ran his ultra marathon completely solo and unaided.
An avid runner since the age of 11, this incredible athlete was running for himself and for an important cause. With the aim to raise money for the Red Cross and the charity SANE, Kevin overcame his own struggles with depression by immersing himself in training for this 621 day trek. At 34 years of age, Kevin traversed over 26,000 kilometers (16,000 miles) and 26 countries.
The goals that Kevin Carr, the ultra runner, set for himself were:
- To set the world record to be the first runner to circumnavigate the planet solo and self supported.
- To break the world record of being the youngest person to run around the world.
- To break the world record of fastest runner around the world.
In order to succeed in his ultra marathon quest, Kevin Carr visited countries such as India, where he had to face extreme heat, and Canada, where he came face to face with many bears. Averaging 42 kilometers a day, Kevin also hit the pavement in Australia, New Zealand and South America.
In his run, Kevin faced temperatures between -30 and 55C. At one point, his ultra marathon took him into remote wilderness for a distance of 1,000 km. Kevin pushed all of the equipment he needed in order to survive and succeed in the mountain ranges, desert areas and frozen terrain, all the while battling extreme elements.
Kevin Carr wants to inspire others suffering from depression and anxiety. He battles these illnesses himself but finds strength in the form of endurance training. Kevin has indeed endured extreme elements and has had to push himself to the limit in order to achieve his incredible world record goals. Arriving in Dartmoor, England on April 9, 2015 Kevin completed his journey 1 day earlier than the previous world record holder.
To learn more about Kevin Carr, check out the website here.
Why do we run? The dedication and perseverance that comes along with the sport is depicted in Run Hard:
