Countdown begins after exhausting 2014 challenge
Almost 365 days have passed since Naheem Yacub began his mammoth challenge of covering 2,313miles in 2014 and the 28-year-old is quickly closing in on his goal.
Naheem, from Leeds, has run, jogged and cycled his way to the target over the past year and has even completed parts of his journey abroad in Pakistan and France.
Now, having begun the trek on Sunday 5th January 2013, at the Central Lancashire Half-Marathon, the fundraising enthusiast has decided to complete the project at the same place it began.
“I’ve been working towards the 2,313 milestone all year and now that it is so close, I can make sure I finish at the Lancashire run on 4th January (2015),” he said.
“It has been really hard in recent months because it has been freezing on a night when I am out running but I cannot stop now and am determined to finish this.”
Naheem, a teacher and barber by trade, has been raising money for Leeds Children’s Hospital and British Red Cross’s Syria Crisis Appeal during his run and has raised much more than £1,000 for the charities.
From a huge bike ride – from Lands End to John O’Groats, to marathons, half-marathons and daily 10k’s, slowly but surely, the fundraiser has made his way towards his target.
Explaining what he has been up to since his last catch-up with the Asian Express, he said: “Since the bike ride I have just been working my way towards the target and continue to do my running every day.
“I have been to Pakistan and done some running there which was extremely tough. Running just two miles in that heat felt like 10 and I was in no way ready for that.”
He added: “I’ve also done the Great North Run which was a massive challenge. I hadn’t really trained before it because it was after my bike ride so it really took it out of me.
“On the day of the race I was also late so had to park around three miles from the start-line and run that distance before I could even do the race.”
Currently, Naheem is running two 10-kilometre distances a day, one in the morning followed up by one in the evening.
Due to an injury picked up earlier in his challenge, the charitable runner accepts that he can no longer complete the marathon distances every day but is confident of reaching the milestone.
“Since injuring my ankle back in February, I have been running on with an injury but have been putting off the doctors because I don’t want to stop and rest, especially because I am so close,” he said.
“Whenever it does get too much for me, with the pain, I just think of those who I am raising money for and it motivates me to keep going.
“As bad as it gets for me, I know that I have a roof over my head when I get home but so many people out there don’t.”
Naheem opted to complete 2,313 miles after discovering the distance between the UK and Syria was that distance.
