London Marathon + 80 Mile Cool Down Run! Military Fundraiser Ultra Athlete MIKE BUSS Takes It in His Stride! (Race Number 28381)
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London Marathon + 80 Mile Cool Down Run! Military Fundraiser Ultra Athlete MIKE BUSS takes it in His Stride! (Race Number 28381) Submitted by: Blue Click PR Limited Thursday, 22 April 2010 Mike Buss Virgin London Marathon Race Number is 28381 22nd April 2010 – Swindon, Wiltshire, United Kingdom - Whilst marathon runners throughout the UK have been tapering down their training in preparation for the London Marathon (http://www.virginlondonmarathon.com), this week Mike Buss (http://www.mike-buss.com) has already completed a journey running nearly 200 miles in 60 hrs without sleep and with minimal rest. The Challenge known as the ‘Brighton London 320 Miler’ involved Mike running from Swindon (http://www.swindon.gov.uk) in Wiltshire to the start line of the Brighton Marathon (http://www.brigthonmarathon.co.uk), running the Brighton Marathon and then running to Stamford Bridge (Chelsea FC) (http://www.chelseafc.com). The whole journey should have seen Mike run 210miles but Mike incurred an injury along the route which, after discussion with his support crew Mike pulled out 15 miles short of Chelsea. With over 7,600 runners on the day, the Brighton marathon (http://www.brightonmarathon.co.uk) is reckoned by its organizer and former Olympic middle distance runner, Tim Hutchings (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Hutchings), to be the third largest in the UK after Edinburgh (http://www.edinburgh-marathon.com) in its very first year. The temperature was 17 degrees which is not ideal but Mike Buss ran the Brighton marathon in 5 hours and 58 minutes accompanied by Lc Cpl Damien Hedges and Private James Howse from Royal Logistics 29 Regiment in Gloucestershire, both of whom had never run more than 12 miles before. After two well-earned deep tissue sports massages donated by Water Aid (http://www.wateraid.org/uk) and Studio 57 Clinic (http://www.studio57clinic.co.uk), Mike Buss (http://www.mike-buss.com) set off refreshed on the final leg to London - another 60 miles. However, he had to pull up because his left foot was painfully swollen, due to collapsed arches. He needs orthotic footwear to correct the way he pronates when he runs. The round trip to London should have been 210 miles but Mike took a practical view and said ‘Things did not go quite according to plan. It was really disappointing not to complete the Brighton to London leg due to injury, but we decided it was better to let my feet heal before the London marathon. Now I know the roads, maybe we can get a bunch of ultra athletes running the 320 mile round trip together next year!’ To make his endurance fundraising efforts worthwhile, Mike is urging people to sponsor him for £5 or more if they like, but most importantly to tell their friends to add to the £25,000 he has already raised. The first phase of this endurance challenge has been in support of Help for Heroes (http://www.helpforheroes.org.uk). The London Marathon phase is in support of The Royal British Legion (http://www.britishlegion.org.uk). See www.justgiving.com/mikes-worldrecords which has been the chosen vehicle for over £12,700 of donations to date. Page 1 Mike is in London this week with his sponsors on the TIMEX & BROOKS stands at the Virgin London Marathon Expo (http://www.lmexpo.com) the biggest running show of its kind with 80,000 visitors. Whilst there, Mike will meet Eammon Martin (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eamonn_Martin), the last Briton to win the London Marathon in a time of 2 hours 10 minutes and 50 seconds in 1993. . This Sunday’s Virgin London Marathon will be Mike’s 89th competitive marathon. Mike will start from the Green Zone Line where he will line up with Elites including Duncan Kibet (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duncan_Kibet), the world champion, Abel Kirui (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abel_Kirui), the Olympic and defending London champion, Sammy Wanjiru (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sammy_Wanjiru), the Olympic and world bronze medallist, Tsegaye Kebede (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsegaye_Kebede), and the Olympic silver medallist, Jaouad Gharib (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaouad_Gharib), twice a world champion in the past and celebs including Ben Shepherd, Denis Wise, Gary Speed, Gordon Ramsay (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gordon_Ramsay) & Lee Evans (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_Evans_%28comedian%29) in a predicted time of just over 5 hours where he will be greeted at the finish by friend and fellow soldier LCpl Matt Croucher (George Cross) and distinguished military guests. With only minutes rest, they will give him a hero’s send-off and Mike will continue running another 80 miles to his home town Swindon, completing the full 106.2 mile leg in approx 27hrs. The finish line for this difficult endurance challenge will be Kings Chrysler Garage (http://www.sytner.co.uk/kings-chrysler/swindon/home.aspx), the Jeep retailer in Greenbridge, Swindon. He will arrive there on Monday between 12 noon and 1pm to be met by Swindon’s Deputy Mayor, Cllr Rex Barnett (http://www.swindon.gov.uk/thiscouncillorv3?itemid=84213) who has been a staunch supporter throughout Mike’s military fundraising challenges. This event has kindly been sponsored by Jeep www.jeep.co.uk, Brooks www.brooksrunning.co.uk, TIMEX www.timex.co.uk, Ultralieve Pro www.ultralievepro.com and The Big Adventure Store www.thebigadventurestore.co.uk -ends- For further details and press interviews, contact Rhona Jack Managing Director Blue Click PR Ltd. Mobile: + 44 (0) 7866 546221 Tel: +44 (0) 1793 635147 Email: [email protected] Mike Buss World-Record Breaking Endurance Athlete Mobile: +44 (0) 7791 545550 Tel: +44 (0) 1793 766 066 Email: [email protected] EDITOR’S NOTES Mike Buss - Endurance Athlete - Tasks Ahead Endurance athlete Mike Buss supports Help for Heroes because he was medically discharged from the army ten years ago when an IRA bomb caused deafness in one ear. At that time, the support for injured military Page 2 personnel wasn’t particularly good. He values highly the work of the Help for Heroes charity so he is on a mission to: • Break 20 world endurance records in just 12 months (a feat that has never been achieved before). • Raise £100,000 by the end of 2010 and just over £1,000,000 by 2014. • Take on many of the world’s toughest challenges including the ‘Marathon Des Sables’ across the Sahara desert in 2011. • Finish a world record breaking 5 yr campaign by climbing Mount Everest in 2014. Former Lance Corporal Matt Croucher aged 24, from Solihull, West Midlands hit the headlines in February 2009 when he threw himself backwards onto a live hand grenade to protect his companions. He is lucky to be alive, surviving with just a few bad bruises, though his rucksack was shredded. He was awarded The George Cross, one of the highest military decorations for acts of gallantry. Only 44 George Cross medals have been awarded since 1959. Eamonn Martin (born October 9, 1958 in Basildon, Essex) is a former elite long distance runner from England. The most recent British male winner of the London Marathon, he ran 2:10:50 to win the 1993 race in a sprint finish against the Mexican athlete Isidro Rico. That race was Martin’s debut marathon. He went on also to win the Chicago Marathon in 1995 (2:11:18). SWINDON is only six miles from WOOTTON BASSETT, the market town famed worldwide for the respectful way in which residents and visitors support mourning families of dead soldiers being repatriated from Afghanistan through RAF Lyneham. Page 3 Distributed via Press Release Wire (https://pressreleases.responsesource.com/) on behalf of Blue Click PR Limited Copyright © 1999-2021 ResponseSource, The Johnson Building, 79 Hatton Garden, London, EC1N 8AW, UK e: [email protected] t: 020 3426 4051 f: 0345 370 7776 w: https://www.responsesource.com.