How Nick Butter is running a marathon in 196 countries – Red Bull

When ultrarunner Nick Butter crosses the finish line of the Athens marathon next month, he admits there’ll be tears. The marathon will be the emotional culmination of a 22-month, solo round-the-world journey that will successfully complete Butter’s mission to run a marathon in every single one of the world’s 196 countries – a world first – for charity.

It’s a challenge that has seen him run up to four marathons a week, take over 400 flights, change countries three times a week and exist on barely any sleep. He’s run through war zones, overcome muggings, dog attacks and stolen luggage, gone through nine passports, run in 60°C heat, pushed on through food poisoning and a kidney infection, and spent more than £500,000 in the process.

The sleep deprivation, cost and mental fatigue is worth it to raise money for Prostate Cancer UK, he says. Two years in the making, project Running The World 196 was inspired by a fellow ultrarunner with terminal prostate cancer, Kevin Webber, who Butter met during the Marathon des Sables ultramarathon. “He’s literally changed my life; his idea is that you shouldn’t wait until you have a terminal diagnosis to do what you love,” explains Butter, who hopes to raise £250,000 for Prostate Cancer UK and inspire others to get checked and squeeze the most out of life. “Prostate cancer kills more than 11,000 people in the UK every year, but if you catch it early, the chances of living are huge.”

With only 13 marathons to go (at time of writing), 30-year-old Butter chats us through the logistics and physical demands that come with running a marathon in every country on the planet.

1. It took two years to plan

“Logistically, this trip is huge,” says Butter. “You have all the visas, the security elements, the flights, accommodation, all of the countries, and how this links up.” From kit and sponsors, planning the route, flying home for new passports (he’s been through nine), dealing with cancelled flights and working out how to avoid doubling-back to countries, the planning alone has been a marathon challenge itself. “The hardest thing about this mission has been logistics – even with a team to help. That, and finance.”

2. He prepared by running 150-mile weekends

An experienced ultrarunner, Butter already had 40,000km under his belt prior to starting his challenge, and has now run more than 600 marathons. In the two year lead up to Running The World 196, training included fortnightly 150-mile runs from Saturday midday to Sunday midday. “Essentially it was a 24-hour training run every other weekend. My mileage was huge, and I loved it.”

3. Training wasn’t all plain sailing though

With just four months to go before his first flight, Butter broke his ankle. Fortunately, he was still able to start on time, but his training volume decreased substantially. “I didn’t run a full-distance marathon in the three months leading up to starting the trip. Preparation was a lot less than it should have been, but I had some decent mileage under my belt, anyway.”

4. He’s experienced all weathers and all people

“I’ve run past an erupting volcano in Guatemala, raced with 1,000 kids in El Salvador, have run up huge hills in Nepal, experienced horrendous thunderstorms and tropical rain in Hong Kong, and crazy 60°C heat in Kuwait. I’ve been mugged in Nigeria, been bitten by a dog in Tunisia, I’ve had food poisoning four times, I’ve run with a kidney infection and an infected tooth. And I’ve met some amazing people.”

5. His body is holding up well

Shock: Butter doesn’t have any gruesome foot shots to share, despite the high volume of running. “My feet are fine. Running is the easy part of this challenge. I’m pretty invigorated by the endorphins. Ultimately, my legs do get tired and I’ve had minor injuries from doing marathons back-to-back and lifting a 30kg bag around the world with me. But running is the fun part, as it should be.”

6. He’s taken more than 400 flights and is permanently exhausted

183 countries, 183 marathons, 400-plus flights (off-setting 100% of emissions), 60 cancelled flights, changing time zones, 3am marathons – it’s been an intense 21 months and, unsurprisingly, Butter is exhausted. “Jet lag as such isn’t a thing because I’m hopping from one country to the next. My body is just permanently knackered so it doesn’t matter where I am. Recently, I’ve taken 11 flights in six days. Some days I’ve literally landed in a country, had dinner, slept for two hours and started running at midnight until the morning.”

7. He regularly forgets which country he’s in

“Constant travel is gruelling and, with the fatigue, I’m always forgetting what country I’m in. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve been pulled in at immigration to be searched and questioned because I haven’t been able to answer where I am, how long I’m going to be here or where I’ve come from, even though it was only a couple of hours ago.”

8. He had to run 335 laps of a car park to avoid dangerous dogs

Butter has often had to get creative in order to reach his 26.2 mile goal. He’s run 82 laps around the Vatican City in Italy, 140 laps around an ambassador’s garden in Jamaica and 335 laps around a car park in the Marshall Islands due to dangerous dogs, which have had a huge, unexpected, impact on his running. “I was bitten by a dog in Tunisia and had to throw rocks at dogs in South America when it got scary, but by far the worst place has been the Pacific Islands, which have horrendously aggressive dogs, so much so that I’ve been given sticks [to protect myself with] when I’ve checked into hotels. A 335-lap car park marathon was done because it was too dangerous to run otherwise.”

9. Mentally, it’s taxing

Most marathon runners get to put their feet up and enjoy a slice of cake or soak in the bath after their efforts. But not Nick. “Just imagine running a normal marathon but when you finish you can’t go to your hotel room and shower and relax for a bit. Instead you have to pack your 30kg bag, head to the airport and make sure you check-in on time, because you can’t miss a single flight.

“There’s a lot of mental stress. Is the country I’m travelling to going to accept credit card, so I can buy some water during my run? Is the route safe? Is it too busy on the roads? Are there going to be lots of dogs who are going to try and attack me?”

10. But he’s never considered quitting

“When you invest so much time and energy and you’re doing it for a cause you’re completely passionate about, there’s no option of quitting. I have thought: ‘I want to take a break. I don’t want to get on a plane tomorrow, I don’t want to pack my bags again. I really want to have a shower with hot water.’ When you’re travelling around the world with five pairs of socks and pants, and very little clothes, with the same things around you for nearly two years, you do kind of feel trapped in your own bubble and you do want to escape that. But I’ve never felt like quitting, even when I’ve torn my Achilles, been in absolute agony with blisters, sprained ankles, knee issues and back problems. You just get on with it.”

11. He’s run at 2am to avoid the heat

Snow, ice, thunderstorms and intense heat – Nick has run through it all, but the heat in Africa and the Middle East required evasive, early starts. “I’ve started my runs at 2am, 3am and even midnight, running in permanent darkness just to avoid the heat. The average temperature in Africa was 44°C. It was absolutely sweltering.”

12. He takes 11 supplements to help him stay healthy

Nutritious food isn’t easy to come by while travelling and Butter lost 11kg in two weeks in Africa due to the dining options and food poisoning. To keep him as healthy as possible, he relies on supplements. “I take the usual vitamins, probiotic, cod liver oil, Omega 3. I survive off those tablets.

“I have a couple of tablets called Juice Plus which is basically ground-up fruit and veg so I get some nutrients. When you’re doing something for two years, you’ve got to make sure you’re not degrading your body so much that you cause yourself an injury at the last minute.”

13. He’s dreaming of a sesame seed bagel

Out of everything waiting back home, he’s most looking forward to eating a bagel, closely followed by seeing family and friends. “A sesame seed bagel with marmite and lots of butter, and being able to go into Tesco and have any food I want,” he says. “As sad as that sounds, in the Western world we have it so lucky – 95 percent of the rest of the world have no idea of the luxuries we take for granted.”

14. The journey continues once he’s finished

A book, European school tour and documentary are on the cards and Nick will continue to raise money for Prostate Cancer UK. “Kev has said to me, ‘Don’t wait for a diagnosis to change your life’, so I’d like to make people realise that they shouldn’t wait if they have a dream – whether it’s to spend more time with the kids or take up a pottery class, do it now.”

To follow Nick on the final leg of his challenge, follow him on Instagram, Strava and check out www.nickbutter.com. To donate, head to his Just Giving page.