The English teenager has received famous supporters.
Marcus Skeet ran a mile, or 1609 meters, every day in April. On the last day, he was joined by Russell Cook, who has become a star in Britain. AOP, X screenshot
In honor of the turn of the year, Iltalehti publishes again the memorable sports stories of 2024. The story about Marcus Skeet was published for the first time on May 14, 2024.
An English teenager Marcus Skeet16, decided to run one mile every day for the whole of April for a good cause.
The rapture culminated in a wonderful and surprising way, when the young man got the last day of April to join Mail by Russ Cookwho at the beginning of April reportedly became the first person to have run from one end of Africa to the other.
The Press – magazine, Skeet got a pleasant surprise when Cook commented on his X post and offered to run the last mile with the boy.
– It’s an honor. He is a huge source of inspiration for me and just being able to meet him means a lot, Skeet said.
On the last day of April, Skeet posted a happy update on his X account.
– Day 30, and the last day completed of the daily mile running challenge for mental health. Thank you so much Russ Cook for a great day, run and meal. The best day of my life. What a true legend, Skeet wrote.
– There are still good people in this world. You are not alone. You are loved.
There are similarities in Skeet’s and Cook’s backgrounds. On the Gofundme fundraising site for the April challenge, Skeet said she suffered from mental health challenges.
– My goal has always been to spread as much awareness as possible about mental health and try to help others.
– I did this same thing a few years ago (to be honest, when I wasn’t so fat) for Alzheimer’s disease, which is another charity close to my heart.
the BBC according to Cook, on the other hand, he justified his own 352-day Africa running job with the fact that he had previously suffered from mental health challenges as well as a gambling and alcohol problem and wanted to change things. Cook wanted him to have no regrets in his life.
On the day he crossed the finish line, Cook had collected more than 700,000 pounds for charity, i.e. more than 812,000 euros.
Skeet’s goal was to raise £250, but the goal was well exceeded. At the beginning of May, there was almost 7,000 pounds in the bank.
According to Skeet, working out outside has improved his mental health.
– People don’t value nature and fitness as much as they should. The best thing you can do for your mind is to go outside and see nature and animals.
Skeet sometimes dreams of running the length and breadth of the island of Great Britain, that is, as they say in English, from Land’s End to John o’ Groats.
During 2024, Skeet got a taste for longer trips. He first ran a couple of marathons, and in November he completed one 60 kilometer long ultramarathon.
In February 2025, Skeet raises the stakes considerably. The young man is going to run marathon on six continents at the pace of one marathon per week.
Even Skeet’s individual updates in X have reached over a million people at best. He has also encountered unpleasant phenomena on social media. Skeet told touchingly about the online hate he faced in December.