Cumbrian marathon man completes 300th run in a year

Gary McKee has had to fit his marathons around shifts at work

A man aiming to complete a marathon a day for a year has reached the milestone of 300 consecutive runs.

Gary McKee, from Cleator Moor, Cumbria, launched the challenge on 1 January.

The 52-year-old has to fit his runs around work shifts at the Sellafield nuclear site, which has meant sometimes running two within 16 hours.

He said he takes inspiration from remembering "whatever you're going through yourself, somebody else is going through worse".

Mr McKee, who is running in memory of his late father, said: "Look at the charities we're raising money for and the support that they provide people in their darkest times, that's what keeps you going."

A runner from London, who has joined Mr McKee on occasions during the year, has booked the capital's Olympic Stadium for 20 November and people were "more than welcome" to join them for a lap or more, Mr McKee said.

A personal video message from four-time Olympic champion Sir Mo Farah suggests he may be among them.

Sir Mo Farah told Gary McKee "this track's waiting for you"

In the message he congratulated Mr McKee on his achievement so far, which he called "incredible".

With the stadium visible behind him, Sir Mo said he would be waiting for Mr McKee at "a special place".

Mr McKee said the video had left him "choked up".

He said it would "mean the world" if Sir Mo "turned up and did a few laps".

Gary McKee is raising money for Macmillan Cancer Support and Hospice at Home West Cumbria

Mr McKee has been running at an average pace of under four hours per run despite an injury in the summer which slowed him down.

Extreme heat and rain made some marathons more difficult but he uses a sauna for recovery and found that helped him acclimatise in summer temperatures above 30C.

Last year he ran 110 marathons in 110 days, raising more than £110,000 for Macmillan Cancer Support and Hospice at Home West Cumbria.

Mr McKee has previously climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, trekked through New Zealand and run from Land's End to John O'Groats.