For many, running a marathon is an accolade of life, a culturally-fixed way of proving athletic ability and determination—but for Gary McKee, it’s literally just another day in the office.
McKee ran a marathon every day of 2022 to raise money for cancer treatment, and a simple multiplication problem of 26.2 x 365 will reveal he ran 9,500 miles (15,300km) during the year, equivalent to crossing the United States three times.
He ran through 20 pairs of running shoes, and what’s more, his marathon was only a prelude to going to work in the morning at the Sellafield nuclear site.
On New Year’s Eve he finished his final marathon to cheering crowds and fireworks near his Cumbrian home. News came in that he had made his £1 million mark for donations to Macmillan Cancer Support and West Cumbria Hospice at Home.
“It’s not the distance, it’s because it’s the last one. It’ll be a special day. Cancer affects everybody so it isn’t just a west Cumbrian thing, it’s a national thing,” McKee told the BBC at breakfast ahead of his final run.
“I just hope that people do get behind us and we do raise that million pounds. If we don’t, it won’t be because I haven’t run 365 marathons.”
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“It’s difficult to put into words how grateful we are to Gary for taking on this unbelievable challenge,” said Hayley McKay, director of funding and communications for Hospice At Home West Cumbria. “The physical and mental strength he has shown is incomprehensible.”
After McKee was finished, he expressed his contentment in laconic terms, telling the BBC “we’ve done the job.”
He celebrated with his supporters; a “Marathon Man IPA” in his hands on what was a cold and rainy, yet intensely satisfying December day.
WATCH the start and finish of his final marathon…
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