British adventurer Jamie McDonald has just 60 days to finish the remaining 1,500 miles of his world-first solo 5,000 mile run across Canada – which means he’ll need to maintain a pace of a marathon a day until his end point; Vancouver, despite an injury.

Jamie McDonald, 27, is a British fundraising adventurer. The Gloucester-born man embarked upon the historic 5,000 mile ‘Run for the Future’ across Canada without a support team in March, to raise money for children’s hospitals in the UK and Canada. Having so far completed the majority of his journey dressed as super hero ‘The Flash’, Jamie will need to muster up all the speed he can in his marathon sprint to the finish. He’s raised more than £30,000 since starting in March.

Jamie has just left Winnipeg, Manitoba, where he rested a suspected broken foot. X-rays showed no break, but severe bruising on the bone caused by 3,500 miles of running. The injury will make the remainder of the run ever more difficult as he approaches the Rocky Mountains and sub-zero temperatures.

Prior to his injury, world-record breaking adventurer McDonald was averaging more than a marathon every single day in his quest to become the first person to run across Canada without a support team. He maintained that pace for approximately 6 weeks, pushing his stroller ‘Caesar’, carrying all of his possessions, whilst doing so.

As a child, Jamie suffered from a debilitating immune deficiency and a rare spinal condition called syringomyelia that had him in and out of hospital until the age of nine and as such, wishes to give back to the hospitals that treated him whilst also supporting new ones in Canada.

Jamie’s coast-to-coast run, throughout which he is sleeping by the side of the road or relying on the generosity of strangers, is the equivalent of more than 200 marathons in 275 days. It has to be completed by mid-December, when his travel visa runs out.

Jamie is running in aid of a different hospital or foundation in each Canadian province, as well as British charities Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity and the Pied Piper Appeal, capturing hearts and imaginations as he continues the agonising run across the country, having delivered a number of motivational speeches about past challenges and his current one.

Jamie is inspired by Canadian fundraiser and amputee Terry Fox, who unfortunately succumbed to cancer in 1981 before completing the cross-country run after 3,339 miles, aged just 22. His foundation has since raised more than $500m for cancer research since his untimely death.

“The end is in sight, but it’s getting harder every day. I’m a positive person by nature, but I’m under no illusion – 60 marathons in 60 days will push me physically and mentally, especially with an injury I’ll be attempting to treat en route.

“I’ve been fortunate enough to meet some incredible people during this run, people who’ve lifted my spirits when I’ve needed picking up and have provided me with the motivation to not give up on many occasions. To know that my run will benefit and perhaps even inspire children for years to come will be enough to get me to drag my sorry backside over the finish line in Vancouver!”

Jamie can be tracked in near-real time by visiting this page: http://jamie.t24solo.com/

Last year, Jamie cycled 14,000 miles from Bangkok to his hometown Gloucester, England, passing through dozens of countries. Along his journey, he was shot at, arrested and slept rough. Just two days after he finished the journey back from Bangkok; Jamie decided to attempt to break the world static cycling record, which stood at 224 hours and 24 minutes. Jamie pedalled for 265 hours (more than 11 days) in order to break the record. Jamie raised tens of thousands of pounds in the process of both challenges for the Pied Piper appeal.

Jamie’s run began in St John’s, Labrador in March and he hopes to reach Vancouver by mid-December 2013. Jamie will pass through mountain ranges, national parks and dangerous terrain as well as running alongside highways.

Jamie is updating his Twitter (www.twitter.com/MrJamieMcDonald) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/Adventuremanjamiemcdonald) profiles and recording videos throughout the challenge, which are all being shared on his YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/user/thejamiemc86) as well as his website.

For more information about Jamie, including ways to donate to his effort, please visit www.jamiemcdonald.org

ENDS

Notes for editors:

For more information, email PR contact Rich Leigh, *protected email*

Live Skype interviews can be set up with Jamie

Here is Jamie’s YouTube channel, featuring all of his videos from the Canada run as well as those from his cycle ride from Bangkok to Gloucester: http://www.youtube.com/user/thejamiemc86. This short video of Jamie’s experience cycling from Bangkok to Gloucester shows a number of key points in the journey: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-zIzWyksFk

Jamie, 27, is from Gloucester, England. As a child, Jamie suffered from a debilitating immune deficiency and syringomyelia.