Ross Edgley

Commencing at midnight on 22 January 2016, Edgley began a marathon (26.2 miles (42.2 km)) around the Silverstone circuit in Northamptonshire, pulling a 1,400 kilograms (3,100 lb) Mini Countryman car. The event was dubbed "The World's Strongest Marathon". As part of his training for the event he went on a special 6,000 calorie plus daily diet and had already done a 16 miles (26 km) pull with the Mini during training. He completed the marathon endeavour in 19 hours, 36 minutes and 43 seconds. The marathon raised money for the Teenage Cancer Trust, Children With Cancer, Sports Aid and United Through Sport.[5]

At 9am on 22 April 2016, Edgley began his "World’s Longest Rope Climb" conquest at Pippingford Park in the Ashdown Forest of Sussex, in which he completed a rope climb of 8,848 metres (29,029 ft), the exact height of Mount Everest,[6] in 19 hours and 54 minutes. The money raised went to the Teenage Cancer Trust.[7]

Edgley's support boat Hecate

Between June and November 2018, Edgley completed a 157-day 1,792 miles (2,884 km) swim around Britain.[8] Aided by a team of experts which monitored the tides and his health in his 16 metres (52 ft) support boat Hecate, he typically swam for six hours, rested for six hours, and swimming another six hours etc.[9] He typically consumed around 15,000 calories a day, eating pizza, pasta, noodles, Shepherd's pie, porridge, biscuits, natural yogurt, peanut butter, coconut oil, bananas and other fruits and vegetables and guzzling green shakes before every swim. By mid October he had consumed 554 bananas.[10] The gruelling swim took its toll on his body, disintegrating his tongue through the eroding effect of the salt, giving him "Rhino Neck" from the effect of the wetsuit rubbing, and his feet entirely losing their arches and turning a deep purple and yellow. The team treated him with Sudocrem, Vaseline, plasters, bin bags and duct tape.[9]

Edgley's journey was documented as a weekly internet series, "Ross Edgley's Great British Swim", produced by Red Bull TV. After completing the swim in Margate on 4 November 2018, the World Open Water Swimming Association announced it as the World Swim of the Year 2018 and it became officially recognised as "The World's Longest Staged Sea Swim."[11] He also broke several other records during the swim by becoming the first and fastest person to swim the length of the English Channel from Dover to Land's End over 350 miles (563 km) in 30 days and becoming the fastest person to swim the 900 miles (1,400 km) from Land's End to John o' Groats in 62 days.[10] Talking about his historic swim he said, "It's my hope that people remember the Great British Swim as an example or experiment in both mental and physical fortitude."[12]

Other feats include a 1,000 mile barefoot run in a month carrying a 50-kg backpack, an Olympic Distance Triathlon carrying a 100-lb tree, swimming over 100 km across the Caribbean Sea pulling a 100-lb tree,[13][14] swimming non-stop for 48 hours at the Commando Training Centre for the Royal Marines, and completing 30 Marathons in 30 days.