Express & Star

Living the dream: Black Country ultra-runner gearing up for 2,200-mile USA challenge

A long-distance runner is gearing up for his next gruelling challenge - a 2,200-mile hike across the east coast of America.

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Endurance runner Kristian Morgan is gearing up for his toughest challenge to date

Kristian Morgan, aged 44, who is originally from Wolverhampton, is hoping to beat the challenge's current record of 41 days, seven hours and 39 minutes.

He is among an elite group of athletes who embark on ultra-marathons that push mind and body to the very limit.

Kristian said: "Life is for living and I believe in taking life by the horns. Don't dream, wake up and live it.

"Everyone in the world has a dream, and not everybody lives that dream. But I am one of these people that lives their dream. That is what I am doing."

This will be his greatest test so far, having completed the UK's longest trail in September last year.

There, he set a new record of 10 days, 12 hours and six minutes on the 630-mile South West Coast path that goes around Devon and Cornwall.

Kristian, now living in London, is hoping to fly out to the USA soon to embark on the Appalachian Trail, the longest hiking-only footpath in the world, which spans 14 states from Georgia to Maine for 2,193 miles.

He has faced delays due to travel restrictions brought on by the coronavirus pandemic, and only has a small window to travel before the nights start getting darker.

Kristian said: "It usually takes people five to seven months to hike and there is a 75 per cent drop-out rate.

Kristian Morgan

"I helped set the record in 2018 by running with my friend Karel Sabbe, who is from Belgium.

"I ran with him for about one third of the attempt and it is inspired that one day I wanted to go for the record myself.

"The current windows start June 21, which is not too far away.

"I have just been delayed because I was waiting for a letter off British Athletics to give me an exemption for travel for me and my support crew. I haven't heard back from them yet.

"The US is currently closed to non-US citizens. Whatever comes first, either my letter or [president] Joe Biden reopening the borders."

Mr Morgan aims to run along the trail for as much as he can, but due to mountain terrains, some points will see him resort to hiking and climbing.

He added: "Everything which I can run, I will run. But sometimes there will be hiking, if there is a steep mountainous section."

Endurance runner Kristian Morgan

The very first race he ran was the Wolverhampton Marathon, in 2000, which he found out about through an advert in the Express & Star.

He entered that with very little training but said it proved to be a "life changing experience" as he was able to push himself to new limits.

Sixteen years later, he returned to win that marathon in 2016. Since then, he has embarked on 100-mile runs, 200-mile runs and the UK's longest trail.

The Appalachian Trail will be his hardest one to date, but Kristian said he has bigger challenges in the pipeline.

He said: "I want to become a Triple Crowner. That is someone who has done America's three longest scenic national trails.

Connecting

"That is the Appalachian Trail, which is about 2,200 miles, then you have got the Pacific Crest Trail on the West Coast [2,650 miles], then you have the Continental Divide Trail [3,028 miles] in the middle of the country. I want to do all three, then you become a Triple Crowner."

He added: "I think crazy is watching the television every night and just thinking about watching other people do stuff.

"It is so easy these days to be sedated by Netflix and the routine. I am talking about being on the road for seven months, stepping out of society.

"I think what is crazy is life passing you by and not living. Our senses are so dull in this modern world.

"We stare at screens for four or five hours a day, 20 or 40 hours a week. For me, what all this is about is connecting with nature.

"Connecting with nature is probably one of the most healing things. When I am out there, running, out there with just the trees, and the wind and the weather, and just listening to my body, it boils down to, when I am doing the record, is survival. Just moving forward, eating and sleeping.

"What happens is, when you strip away all the layers, you find out what is important.

"There is a saying actually, any of the long hikes, I will refer to the Appalachian Trail: 'When you start the Appalachian Trail, by the time you get to the finish, you have figured out your entire life'. It is pure therapy."