Salisbury charity WildFish has benefited from a Bristol student’s mission to complete seven marathons in seven days.
Last week Lucca Froud, 20, set off to run from the Marble Arch in London all the way to the Arc de Triomph in Paris.
His mission aims to raise money for WildFish, a charity that campaigns for wild fish and their waters. Throughout the seven days, Froud was hoping to garner £35,000 to donate to the cause.
With a passion for fighting climate change, Froud was inspired to take on the challenge after meeting the CEO of WildFish.
“Climate change is the most significant threat to humans and the natural world. Central to preventing it is our natural waters, our ocean and our rivers.”
To complete the 200 mile route, Froud would complete a marathon, running for a total time of about five hours each day.
With a background in soccer, Froud was still a novice runner after only picking up running at the start of this year. Despite his lack of experience, his passion for the cause gave him the motivation he needed.
“If you really believe in something, you should do what you can to help.”
With only five weeks between planning and executing the challenge, Lucca was determined to train for the ultramarathon effectively. To prepare, Froud set himself weekly running targets and listened to his body to help gauge his efforts.
“If my body was stiff at the start of the run I would start slower and ease into it, then when it felt stronger I would get slightly faster – I think by learning this intuitive method of running and having this feeling of being totally in sync with my body when I was training really set me up well for the real event.”
Froud describes the week as the “best and worst” of his life and didn’t come without its obstacles.
On day one, the bicycle his girlfriend was riding to support him broke, leaving them to push it uphill.
After not accounting for shops being closed on Sunday, Froud completed his fifth marathon with minimal food and water.
Ultrarunning hallucinations are not uncommon, and Froud describes experiencing them late one night when he thought he saw a bear.
“The thought of there being a bear stalking me definitely made me run as fast as I possibly could away from where I thought I saw it.”
So far, Froud has managed to raise over £8,000 for the charity WildFish.
His efforts are not unnoticed at WildFish, Chief executive of the charity, Nick Measham said “We hope that Lucca’s enthusiasm for wild fish conservation and this remarkable test of endurance will help to raise awareness of the urgent need for change.”
