Endurance feats don’t come much bigger than the one achieved by former Royal Marine Mitch Hutchcraft, who on Sunday reached the summit of Mount Everest to complete the ‘world’s longest triathlon’.
The 31-year-old is in the closing stages of a 240-day challenge which has already seen him swim 35km across the English channel, cycle over 12,000km through Europe and Asia to Digha in India before running 900km to Kathmandu in Nepal.
Not satisfied with that accomplishment, Hutchcraft then hiked the 360km to Mount Everest base camp to embark on an historic ascent of the tallest mountain on Earth.
At 07:30am local time on Sunday May 11, he achieved his heroic goal by reaching the top of the 8,849m mountain. Mitch remains on Everest and is descending to base camp at the time of writing, which remains a dangerous challenge for even the most experienced climber.
A dream come true
Following his record-breaking summit, Mitch said: “It’s been a dream of mine since I was eight years old to climb Everest, ever since I saw it in a book.”
“Never in a million years did I think this would be how I’d get here. Years of preparation, eight long months of physical endurance, swimming across the Channel…the hardest day of my life, cycling across 19 countries, running 900km, and following in the footsteps of the first ever climb of Everest to reach base camp. It’s been one hell of a journey.”
Hutchcraft’s aim throughout the experience, which he called Project Limitless, was to inspire people to leap out of their comfort zones and push the boundaries of what they individually believe to be impossible.
He added: “This has been the most painful, but fulfilling, adventure. I just want it to inspire others to believe that whatever they’re dreaming, however small, they just need to get out there and smash it.”
Vital funds to support veterans
Mitch’s endurance challenge has also raised vital funds for SAVSIM, a non-profit organisation centred around wildlife conservation, dedicated to providing mental health support to veterans and others suffering from PTSD and similar issues. SAVSIM also work to prevent poaching across the globe.
Mitch added: “For me this is so much more than just a dream to make history, it is also the chance to raise funds and awareness for an amazing non-profit organisation very close to my heart and give back to veteran mental health and wildlife conservation.”
If you would like to support Mitch, and his cause, you can do via his Givestar page. He has currently raised over £13,100.
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