College student smashes 48-hour running challenge

24th March 2021

Barnsley College Sport student, Alex Neil, has completed a colossal 48-hour running challenge to raise money for Bowel Cancer UK.

Alex ran four miles every four hours over the 48-hour period, taking only short naps to recharge. The 19-year-old has raised £ 1,390 for Bowel Cancer UK, a charity close to his heart as his grandmother sadly passed away due to the disease nine years ago.

After completing the final part of 4x4x48 challenge, which was devised by American ultramarathon runner David Goggins, Alex said: “I knew I wanted to do the challenge but wasn’t entirely sure as it seemed ridiculously hard, especially for someone who hasn’t run for months due to lockdown.

“I found the challenge pretty fun, especially through the day knowing how far I had run and knowing I was going to complete it, although the sleep deprivation was tough at points.

“Overall, the challenge was easier than I expected, however I quite badly injured my knee during the last three runs so those were a bit of a grind mentally and physically. However, as David Goggins has proved, when you think you have reached your limit, you are actually operating at 40%.”

If you would like to contribute to Alex’s GoFundMe page visit: https://gofund.me/f2eac292 and you can watch Alex’s journey through the challenge on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lgMRQzoSRk

For more information about our Sport courses visit www.barnsley.ac.uk/sport or email info@barnsley.ac.uk.