I'll be running through Sunderland on my 1,200 mile journey home from Madrid
A South Shields runner is set to complete a mammoth challenge.
Joe Larkin started running from Madrid, in Spain, on Sunday, August 3, and today (August 30), he will finally make it home to South Shields, having covered more than 1,000 miles in the process.
In 2024, Joe, who is the owner of Believe to Run, ran from the borough to Paris to make it there for the opening ceremony of the Olympic games and now he is back in familiar territory as he makes his way back to South Shields.
He said: “It has been brutal, I’ve been running in 40°C heat and at one point I had to run for 28 hours straight to try and catch the ferry in France - I even slept in a farmer’s field for 20 minutes and I still missed it by an hour.
“Because of that, it has put me a day behind and I’ve had to catch up so I’ve been running more than 50 miles a day.
“I’ve had major injuries like shin splints, my back is in knots and I’m drained but I’m pushing on as I’m determined to get home to be with my family and friends.
“I’ve now started to see some of my friends as I’ve ran up through England and I’m back on familiar ground because I’m now running the same route that I took when I ran to Paris last year.
“I’m starting to see familiar sights and with me getting to York, I know that it isn’t far away from South Shields.
“It feels like the support is getting bigger and bigger with the closer I’m getting to home.”
As part of the run, Joe is asking for donations to If U Care Share and Place2Be, which are two charities that are close to his heart and he hopes that the mammoth challenge will inspire others.
He added: “I’m raising money for people who are struggling and I want to inspire people to keep going as we can do much bigger things than what we think we are capable of.
“I want people to use my story to not let anyone tell them they can’t do things, you can do out there and take risks because that is what live is about.
“You’ve got to go out there and do things that scare you - life is far too short.
“Please let this challenge be a message that you can do anything, nothing is impossible.”
As Joe gets closer to home, he is looking for runners to join him on the final leg of his journey.
Joe will be running through Peterlee, Seaham, Ryhope and then central Sunderland at around 3pm-4pm on Saturday afternoon and members of the public are welcome to join him for support.
Or if you wish, you can meet Joe at Souter Lighthouse for the final 5km ahead of him reaching the finish line behind The New Sundial, on Sea Road, in South Shields, at around 6.30pm.
You can keep up to date with Joe’s progress by following him on Instagram at: https://www.instagram.com/joelarkinnn/.
If you wish to view and donate to his fundraiser, then visit: https://givestar.io/gs/madrid-to-south-shields-run.