Treading the way to the record books

Mathew Crowhurstbroke the Guinnes World Record for the distance ran on a treadmill in 12 hours.

Mathew Crowhurst, 41, of Lee Green, ran 103.35km in 12 hours on a treadmill at Xscape in Glasshoughton on Saturday.

He beat the previous record by 1.9km and raised more than £1,300 for Yorkshire Cancer Research.

Mr Crowhurst said: “A lot of the training was about mental focus rather than running. I was pretty fired up for it but after about four hours - when there was still another eight hours to go - it got pretty tough. But I just had to tell myself to keep going.

“There was quite a crowd and they really kept me going.”

Mr Crowhurst, who grew up in Hanging Heaton, was allowed to leave the treadmill for breaks, but as it would take time out of the 12 hours, he only stopped for around ten minutes throughout the challenge, twice to change his socks, and once for a foot massage.

He added: “It was great to bag the world record.”

The challenge was part of preparations for his upcoming Sahara desert run - a six-day, 250km race across the desert to raise money for Yorkshire Cancer Research. To sponsor him visit www.desertrun.co.uk