UK man runs marathons in 196 countries, sets new record

A Thirty-year-old man UK man named Nick Butter has recently set a new record for running a marathon in every county of the world - that is the 196 countries registered by the United Nations. A former banker and athlete by profession, Butter has always had a love for running marathons as per reports in the BBC.

In 2016 he met a fellow runner Kevin Webber in Morocco during the Marathon Des Sables. Webber revealed to Butter that he was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2014 and had two years to live. So, he set off running marathons across the world to raise money for Prostate Cancer UK.

This made Butter change the direction of his life. He went on to quit his banking job and embark on his solo expedition in January, last year.

The 675-day adventure was filled with euphoric moments and not-so-great ones including being hit by a car, getting bitten by a dog, a broken elbow, and even being shot at.

In a statement, Butter said, "In one sense it was just another finishing line, but in a bigger sense I've been visualising it, and finishing in that stadium in Athens was so special." He clarified that he has run 211 marathons till date. The places he visited might be classified as separate countries in the future.