Navy commando to begin 16,400 mile global run

A Royal Navy Commando is beginning a record-breaking attempt to run more than 16,000 miles (22,579 km) around the world.

Fred Stokes, from Lee-on-the-Solent, Hampshire, will spend two-and-a-half years running across five continents to raise money for the Royal Navy and Royal Marines Charity (RNRMC).

Mr Stokes, an endurance athlete, said the challenge felt "worthy of the people we're running for".

He is bidding to become the youngest person to circumnavigate the globe on foot, according to the World Runners Association (WRA).

Accompanied by support runner Ryan Truzzi-Falconi, Mr Stokes is setting off from Spean Bridge in the Scottish Highlands, before running south-east through Europe as far as Turkey.

He will then run east through Saudi Arabia and the Middle East, before running through Malaysia, Australia and New Zealand.

From there, the challenge will take him across North and South America, to a brief stop in Iceland before he runs north from Spain and finishes back at Spean Bridge.

Mr Stokes is aiming to raise £100,000 for the RNRMC, which supports serving Navy personnel, veterans, their families and distributes money to other military charities.

Dawn Ingram, head of fundraising, said the charity was "incredibly proud".

"Every mile Fred and the team run will help us be there for the naval community for life," she said.

The current record-holder for the youngest person to run around the world is Danish athlete Jesper Kenn Olsen, who completed 16,307 miles (26,243 km) in 2005, according to the WRA.

Mr Stokes explained that he wanted to take on this challenge to see if he could do it and to raise money for the Royal Navy after serving for 14 years.

He said: "I had this idea for about 18 months but I didn't know if it was possible.

"I started connecting and talking to people and through that started the planning process.

"The more I planned the more prepared I felt and the more possible the challenge became and I started to think 'I can really do this'."

He said he felt "calm" the night before the challenge started, even though he knew during the next two years "there would be no comfort".

Thinking ahead and imagining what it will be like once the challenge has been completed he said he would be "relieved and possibly a broken man".

He added: "In all seriousness, I hope to become the youngest person to circumnavigate the globe on foot but most importantly I hope to inspire someone younger to take my efforts on."