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Nick Butter Running

Ultra Runner, Endurance Athlete, Adventurer & Motivational Speaker

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For information about me, my coaching, past races and my running adventures please visit my website

www.nickbutter.com

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Running The World 196

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Week 10 – Days 64-70 – A friend arriving in Brazil before Marathon 29 in Argentina and experiencing wind in Uruguay, ending in Paraguay
Week 9 – Days 57-63 – Gambling with finches in Guyana, feeling ‘tyred’ in Suriname and running in Rio, Brazil
Week 8 – Days 50-56 – Exotic birds in Costa Rica, the Panama Canal and Marathons 24 and 25 in Colombia and Venezuela
Week 7 – Days 43-49 – Carbon offset in Guatemala, my first million steps in Honduras, great support in Nicaragua and dodging traffic in Costa Rica
Week 6 – Days 36-42 – Buffet in Mexico, an overnighter to Belize, Amazing support in El Salvador and the on to awesome Guatemala

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Day 193 - Marathon 60/196 - South Africa 🇿🇦 — I NEED YOUR HELP IN EUROPE. My Europe phase of the journey isn’t that far away. Read down for dates! PLEASE COMMENT OR TAG IF YOU OR ANYONE YOU KNOW MIGHT HELP. 🙏 — EUROPE IS CALLING. Let me make a plea to all of you! From 30th August I will be starting my first leg of Europe. If you want to come and run with me or have a contact who might be able to help in some way or organise runners please let me know. I will also have a member of the camera crew with me, filming 🎥 for the the documentary. After the first leg of Africa I then return to Africa for the final push through the central column; these are the dangerous places like the Congo, Sudan 🇸🇩 and Central African Republic 🇨🇫 — Phase one of Europe: — 31/08 - Spain 🇪🇸 Barcelona 02/09 - Andorra 🇦🇩 04/09 - France 🇫🇷 Nice 06/09 - Monaco 🇲🇨 Monte Carlo 08/09 - Vatican City ⛪️ 09/09 - Italy 🇮🇹 Rome 12/09 - San Marino 16/09 - Germany 🇩🇪 Berlin 19/09 - Czech Republic 🇨🇿 Prague 21/09 - Austria 🇦🇹 Vienna 23/09 - Slovakia 🇸🇰 Bratislava 25/09 - Hungary 🇭🇺 Budapest — After my longest rest of the expedition I was back in my trainers and running my 60th Marathon 🏃‍♂️ of the trip today. Oh boy it felt good. Perfect blue skies, a crisp afternoon air and a cool breeze on my face 😎. Shades on, laced up, and with fresh legs and a rested body, for the first time in a very long time I ran with so much energy. — Reminder: PLEASE DONATE EVERYONE. I desperately want to hit this £250,000 target for Prostate Cancer UK. We need to stop men dying. I had plenty of time to think about my mate Kev and all the other men and families affected by this brutal cancer today. Just a few quid from everyone will help. Please visit the JUST GIVING PAGE and see what it’s all about. The team @prostatecanceruk do such great work. — I ran at 15:00 today so I could have a lazy breakfast and then watch the sunset as I ran around this beautiful village complex made of up luxury islands surrounded by lakes and the oceans. #running #run #adventure #adventurers #marathon #runnersofinstagram #runner #guy #cancer #prostatecanceruk #dosportlive #hotguys #fit #fitness #fitguy #hot

Day 192 - South Africa 🇿🇦 Heading East — I decided not to run today; mostly because I found a great route that would be fab at sunrise but also because I had the option not to, which I so rarely have on this trip. — I made my way about 200km east to another sleepy town along the garden route. This area is surrounded by loads of lakes and thus an equal number of bridges. Perfect for a sunrise trot. — Over the past week I’ve been searching for the best place to go in hunt of whales 🐋. Although I briefly saw some I was yet to photograph any, so today I found a local boat that goes out at 12 every day. Already too late I arranged this for tomorrow. Keep an eye out. Fingers and fins crossed please. — I then nestled into an armchair in a local pub in an attempt to catch up on what feels like mountains of work. It’s a careful balance to keep on top of all my admin. Today was all about catching up on the blog. You can now read the first 11 weeks of the journey... loads more photos and extra little stories along the way. Each post captures one week, about 40 photos and loads of hopefully interesting reading. Although time consuming I love my blog. It’s a great way to keep track of everything. As of about 2 weeks ago I’ve been writing it for over 6 years now. A big thanks to my editor Dawn who carefully irons out my sleepy typos and terrible spelling. Take a look at www.nickbutterrunning.com — I’ve had a few questions about my kit so today I’m going to start a weekly kit overview. Just a few items every week. — Today’s Kit: Items 1-3 of 142 — 1. Scrapa Trainers 👟- These are more hiking boots than anything. Whenever I’m not wearing my running trainers I wear these. These shoes keep my feet safe with a supported hard sole. Also water proof; unless you accidentally step in a lake, then they can only handle so much. 🙈 2. Canon 5d Mark iv 📷 - This camera goes everywhere with me. I’ve taken over 50,000 photos so far, plus over 1,500 videos for the documentary. 3. Pulsin- My nutritional bar of choice. They very much keep me going for the entire journey. Vegan, tasty, and light. #run #running #runnersofinstagram #travelphotography #marathon #hot #hotguys #africa #fitness

Day 191 - South Africa 🇿🇦 The Power Cut ——- I’ve now travelled 1200 miles in my little hire car along the garden route of South Africa. Today I abandoned it for a while and went on foot and by boat to do some exploring without the hum of the Polo’s tiny 1.1 litre engine buzzing in my ear. ——- Question: What do you do when the town you’re staying in looses all power for 2 days? No time for admin, no WiFi, and my phone on it’s last legs. ——- Answer: Get in a Kayak and paddle up stream for hours into nowhere. Jump out listen to the world in silence, explore the wilderness in a windy storm and paddle back fighting an even windier return. ——- Gently paddling through the reeds upstream i hit dirt track and then onto a waterfall high in the mountains. This was the best way to spend the day. ——- I am loving these days of rest; although my shoulders and arms are now feeling it from battling the head wind coming back. My legs are however fully fit ready for tomorrow’s 60th marathon. ——- Kayaking is so peaceful and gentle but I always forget about the sore hands and splashes of icey cold water which ultimately leave you soaking wet. Oh and my beloved bags which I’ve been carrying with me the entire journey came with me despite the potential dangers of carrying thousands of pounds of photography and video equipment in a tiny kayak with me at the helm. 🙈 A stupid move in hindsight but they made it back in one piece. 👌🏼 ——- I managed to do some scenery shots for the documentary today too. On top of all the logistics of this never ending challenge I’m very lucky to have a production company involved who are producing a documentary about this journey. A few members of the production crew join me from time to time in various countries. Generally though most of the content is shot by me, but I do manage to palm my cameras off to anyone that’s kindly willing to help. I do also have the drone which I can set up to follow me as I run; or like today, it gently followed me above the trees and mountains as I paddled in my little yellow boat below. #travelblogger #adventure #world #globe #runnersofinstagram #runner #expedition #worldfirst #restday #runner #running #kyaking #drone

Day 190 - South Africa 🇿🇦 Road Trip continues. ——- Rest, Running, Recap and Road Trip ——- Today I continue my scheduled break in South Africa and my gentle road trip from Cape Town to JoBerg. My legs feel rested and my mind is very relaxed compared to the hectic and fraught weeks in Western Africa facing muggings and dog bits. ——- My clutch foot was still put through its paces today after a 400km drive east up the coastline of the stunning mountainous landscape of the garden route. ——- If you’re just catching up; here’s the headlines. I’m running a marathon in every country in the world. On average I run a marathon every 2.4 days with travel and rest days where possible. I’m now in my 7th month of my 23 month journey to cover all 196 counties in the world and be the first person to run a marathon distance in every country on the planet. ——- I’ve completed north, central and South America including all the tiny islands in the Caribbean and around central American. I also detoured briefly to run in North Korea in the official Pyongyang marathon. This was a 25,000 mile round trip from Peru, to North Korea and back to Ecuador in just 4 days. ——- At the moment this is my second of 5 scheduled ‘buffer periods’ to recoup my body, catch up on any missed countries due to flight cancellations or unforeseen mishaps. It’s also a great time to spend more than just 2 days in a country. If I was injured in this scheduled down time I would et my body heal. Having narrowly avoided injuries along the way several times I’m very glad to say my short break in South Africa feels deserved. Having said that I’m itching to run again. Weird I know. Addicted is probably the word. I will be running my 60th marathon this year, in my 60th country I’m a couple of days time. Here on the coastline of South Africa. I’ll then be moving on to country number 61, Botswana. ——- Today was all about the waves, the ocean and the coast. What a great drive along endless straight empty roads with nothing but fields of ostriches and oceans of skyscraper waves. Beautiful. I can’t believe I’m nearly 200 days in already. #running #adventure #adventurers #runnersofinstagram #travelblogger #travelphotography

Day 189 - South Africa 🇿🇦 The Storm — The most southerly point in Africa. Today I stood on the tip of the continent of Africa where the Indian Ocean meets the Atlantic Ocean. It’s blustery, the waves are awesome and the storm is so fun. — Yesterday I worked my way inland about 2 hours to visit a private game reserve and to enjoy a drive through the mountains. This was part of a longer drive along the garden route. Although the drive was fun it was not without a couple of unexpected issues. — A rather windy storm came in; the skies turned black and the mountains looked like I was entering the depths of hell. I climbed through the wine region valleys and the wind increased further; so did the rain. Windscreen whippers on full power squeaking as they do, I past the first of many signs that read. DANGER, HIJACKING HOT SPOT BE AWARE. — The roads were virtually empty and I was more and more concerned. Having been careful in most places so far, I didn’t want to have my car and all my possessions taken from me and be left standing in the rain in the middle of nowhere. — Gladly I reached the game reserve and managed to find a lovely lady who turned out to be the owner. She gave me the best deal. For £80 I had a bed for the night which meant I didn’t have to do the return journey in the storm and on the edge of my seat for several hours worrying about getting hijacked. Phew. Not only could I stay the night in this beautiful reserve just meters from a hippopotamus watering hole but the price included lunch, an evening safari, dinner, and then another sunrise safari and breakfast in the morning. I call that a deal. Thank you. — After all of this I drove east and ended up here, Alguhas. This sleepy village is where I sat and ate fish and chips in the rain watching the waves. I’m on what feels like the edge of the world. After working my way south from Morocco in the north of Africa I’ve now ran in every country along the west coast. Time to work my way up the east, before completing the central strip. This I am told is the even more dangerous bit. #gulp #travel #running #adventure #africa #ocean #runnersofinstagram #elephant #rhino #run #agulhas #lions

Day 188 - 😬 ANNOUNCEMENT 😬 ——- ** LAUNCH 🚀 ** ——- #wonderFULLmagazine ——- First of all... I’ll tell you about today, tomorrow. I’m too excited to tell you this first. ——- Over the past year or so I’ve slowly but surely been working on a new little venture. My mate Mike and I have started our very own super awesome magazine. ——- WonderFULL Magazine is about celebrating wonderful people doing wonderful things. It’s about building a genuine community of adventurers, explorers, fundraisers and photographers. ——- All the content is dictated by you and your WonderFULL stories. No heavy advertising and instead a luxury high quality finish. ——- GET YOUR wonderFULL stories to us. Your story could be in our first issue. All details on our website. ——- This mag will be released in January of 2019. One issue per quarter, thus 4 issues per year. We hope that this will become more of a collectors item rather than a throw away mag. ——- We don’t intend to make any money on the magazine for quite literally years, but rather aim to get more and more people out of their houses and into the mountains, oceans, and forests to make the most of our time on this wonderful planet. ——- Big projects, small projects and everything in between. Everyone has a story to tell. By sharing you may help others enjoy our world too. Weekend breaks, world first expeditions, ocean rows, paddle boarding down the Panama Canal, climbing Everest or an initiative to rid the world of plastic. Anything goes. If it sounds wonderful then shout about it in WonderFULL magazine. ——- Visit: www.wonderFULLmagazine.com for more info. ——- If you’re interested in receiving our first copy COMMENT and TAG someone who might also be interested. ——- Our new insta page is @wonderFULLmagazine ——- Any thoughts, let us know. —— #wonderFULLmagazine #travelblogger #travelphotography #magazine #adventuremag #adventure #travel #stories #world #runningtheword196 #magazine #launch #new #running #hot #sungod #africa #marathon #hotguys #guy #runnerguy #runner #run

Day 187 - South Africa 🇿🇦 Robben Island ——- Let’s not mention the football. Instead let’s focus on the legend that is Nelson Mandela. ——- Today I visited the island and the prison where the great Nelson Mandela spent 18 of his 27 years in prison. ——- Staring into his prison cell I can’t really put into words how I felt. I think the overall feeling was about sacrifice and prolonged bravery. —-- A group of us were given a small tour of the prison and the island. We were shown around by a former prisoner who spent 5 years of his life here. He was inprisoned for the same reason as most. Being black and standing up for himself. Not only that but this man is still serving the greater good and enters the prison every day to give tours to help continue the education. ——- Sadly the black white divide in africa and notably in South Africa is still prominent. ——- I’m all about doing as much as possible in life and eking out every second of our days. I bang on about it all the time. And here I am standing in the place where this great man was a prime example of that. Even from a prison cell he did so much more than most of us could dream of doing. ——- So today’s post is dedicated to all the brilliant people that sacrificed so much in the name of a free and fair society. Nelson was just one of many brave and selfless soles. ——- This anti-apartheid revolutionary and political leader, also served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. He was the country's first black head of state and the first elected in a fully representative democratic election. His government focused on dismantling the legacy of apartheid by tackling institutionalised racism and fostering racial reconciliation. He also founded movements, earned a degree, campaigned to improve prison standards... and most of this from behind bars. ——- With this in mind; remember we always have it within our power to be better, do more and be courageous in our beliefs or goals. Maybe take today to think about what you want your legacy to be. My ethos is to never wait for tomorrow to act. Do it now. I wish I had the courage of this man! #africa #mandela #nelsonmandela #travel #run #running #robbenisland #prison

Day 186 - South Africa 🇿🇦 Cape Town ——- A menuless restaurant, a tableless Table Mountain and two green beans. ——- Another chilled day today, although I did stretch the legs up at 3000 feet on the world famous Table Mountain. Once again I was treated to spectacular views and awesome little animals. The animal count today is 5. ——- Hyrex 🦔 - Rock Dassie Lizard 🦎 - Black Girdled Lizard Seal 🐟 - just looked like a seal Eagle 🦅 - Verrauex’s Eagle Bird 🐦 - No idea what this was ——- A big thanks to Sungod for the new personalised sun glasses. And also a big shoutout to Athetic Tea Co. I drink this stuff nearly every day. If you want a natural alternative to a morning boost give their green tea a go. The best tea I’ve ever tasted. The gang behind the brand are super awesome too. ——- As I’m resting the legs for a few days, and I’m now in a country which offers more than just stale pastries and funny looking rice with even funnier looking ‘meat’ I am taking advantage of scoffing my face on tasty treats. Day one of my little break involved the best steak of my life and today I tried a really quirky restaurant around camps bay. No menu, just a fish counter. Pick your fish, pay by weight and add sides of potatoes and veg. My body feels like it’s super relaxed now. You know that feeling of extreme exhaustion... well I’m coming out the other side I think. I have missed the full feeling. ——- I did however have a very funny experience for lunch. I also ate fish and ordered extra green beans as a side. I was delivered a grand total of 2 beans. Checkout photo 4. ——- This is country number 60 this year and my 186th day on the road. If you want to see all the routes, times, photos, and stories check out STRAVA. My page is called ‘Nick Butter Running The World 196’ or go straight to the expedition website for more updates and blog posts. www.runningtheworld196.com ——- We have raised nearly £30,000 for Prostate Cancer U.K. thanks to your help. We still have a long way to go though. A huge thanks for all the support so far. #travelphotography #adventure #worldrecord #runnersofinstagram #running #travel #mountains #run #travelblogger #backpacker #tablemountain

Expedition Finish

Running The World 196November 11th, 2019

16 months to go.

RTW196 Closing EventMarch 30th, 2020

20 months to go.

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Nick Butter 07754328355

PA - Ali White - 07811745850

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