Gary McKee defies injury for five months to run a marathon every day this year

GARY McKee is less than 100 miles from running the equivalent of Cumbria to Kalgoorlie by completing a marathon every day this year.

Not bad for a man who has been carrying a hamstring injury for FIVE MONTHS!

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Birthdays, Easter Sunday and Christmas Day did not stop the 53-year-old on his way to his amazing feat, which will see him rack up a total of almost 9,570 miles, putting him to Western Australia.

Work definitely has not, he has been doing 12-hour shifts at Sellafield nuclear plant either before or after he runs.

It is all for charity as he still hopes to raise £1 million for Macmillan Cancer Support the Hospice at Home West Cumbria cause close to his Cleator Moor base.

And he has revealed just how he has been gritting his teeth through a problem that would halt mere mortals from running down the road, let alone 26.2 miles.

“My hamstring was giving me loads of bother,” said McKee, who has run the same course 360 times, one at Sellafield – making him, he believes, the only man to run one on a nuclear-licensed site – one in Manchester, where he carried the Rugby League World Cup into Old Trafford, two in London and one in Keswick.

“More or less, I’ve been running with an injury for the last five months!

“So I slowed everything down as I’ve had to manage it. I’ve also had a cortisone injection, which didn’t work, and intense physio. It hasn’t bothered me at all, though.

“Someone in Germany was following me on Strava – I always put a picture with the number of every run on – and when I put 343 on, he came up with for the first six months my average time was three hours 43 minutes and now it’s slower.

“It was like running with a dead leg but I’ve never had a day where I thought, ‘I’ve bitten off too much,’ or, ‘I just can’t be arsed.’

“When you think about the people you’re raising funds for, you’re not really bothered – I’m fine now and my pace is back, but it’s been about completion.

“You look at the amount of people you’ve inspired and the ones you don’t really see – the 75-year-olds who come out every morning with towels and raincoats, they take my hat and gloves off and warm them up.

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“But it is the end, it’s a 365-piece jigsaw and there are two left, the job’s done then.”

McKee’s feats have earned him well-known support in the form of rugby league legend and new England RU defence coach Kevin Sinfield, who ran a marathon with him last week.

And after previous achievements, including running from his home to London before doing the London Marathon, he revealed his advice before the latter’s epic fundraising Ultra 7 in 7 that saw him jog from Murrayfield to Old Trafford.

McKee added: “Before he did his 7 on 7, Kevin contacted me and asked for a bit of advice about the best things to do after what I’ve done in the past.

“He gave me a ring and we had a chat for half an hour and he said, ‘I’ll come over in December and do one with you if that’s all right.’ He’s just a down to earth bloke.”

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McKee’s final run tomorrow will be featured on BBC TV and a special ending is planned at amateur rugby league club Wath Brow Hornets.

After that, the plan is pretty simple.

“Drink,” the team leader told SunSport. “I’ve not had a beer this year. The town will be out for the last one – then I’m back in work on Tuesday.”

*YOU can donate to Gary’s fundraising challenge by clicking www.justgiving.com/fundraising/threesixfive