Arctic to Africa fundraiser's next adventure? The M25

An athlete who finished an epic 61-day triathlon from the Arctic to Africa last week has set his sights on something far less glamourous for his next fundraiser - the M25.

Matthew Hollingham, from Hertfordshire, swam through icy cold water, ran 37 marathons and cycled 3,000km (1,864 miles) through eight countries to raise $40,000 (£29,800) for children's charities, in memory of his fiancee.

Hollingham now plans to run a 114-mile (183km) back-road route that follows the full length of the London Orbital.

He admitted the decision to keep his next challenge firmly on home tarmac was made with family in mind, with the last trek being "more of a strain on them than it was on me".

Hollingham's fundraising has been in memory of his fiancee Lovisa Arnesson-Cronhamre, who died after being hit by a car while attending Pennsylvania State University in September 2023.

During his 61-day triathlon, Hollingham, from Wheathampstead, lost about 25lb (11.3kg) of weight, injured his knee and dealt with hypothermia and heatstroke.

Speaking about finishing his challenge, he said: "In my mind I'm still kind of itching to get out and do another day.

"Every day for the last 61 days, I've woken up and ran a marathon or cycled like hundreds of kilometres, and so my body has no idea what's going on.

"The second I got into the hotel room and I got sort of calm, I was in the shower... I was just crying and like hyperventilating, and just all these emotions that have been suppressed for the last 61 days just came screaming out."

His next challenge will be altogether different, but certainly not a doddle.

Because pedestrians are prohibited on the motorway, he will navigate the distance of the M25 via a network of back roads and underpasses that follow the route.

"There's all these side roads that go under and around it... I can sort of, like, work my way around the whole loop, in one go obviously," he said.

He admitted that by mentioning the challenge, someone could "try and snatch it before me, so hopefully no-one does it before I do".

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