Michael Ferndale: Former soldier to run five marathons in reverse including backwards tour of Edinburgh

A former soldier from Edinburgh will run five marathons in five days, including a tour of the Capital, and do it all backwards.

Michael Ferndale running in reverse in practice for his marathon challenge

Michael Ferndale, who is originally from Edinburgh, will be pounding the pavements in London, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Belfast and Dublin this weekend to complete the extraordinary feat.

He will kick off the challenge in Dublin on Saturday, October 9 before crossing the finish line in London on Wednesday, October 13.

Ferndale is taking on the challenge to raise money for both the Lord’s Taverners and The Change Foundation, who both use sport to inspire social change among young people and give them opportunities.

He said: “I’ve always found things that people find easy, difficult, and some things people find impossible, easy – so my life has always been slightly in reverse anyway.

“I’ve met some amazing people and had some amazing experiences – what I think the whole philosophy of the challenge should be about is doing things differently."

Ferndale, who is now a partner in a consultancy firm in London, served in The British Army for seven years – including tours in Kosovo, Afghanistan, Iraq and Northern Ireland – after being educated at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and The University of Dundee.

He added: “Running in reverse uses three times as much energy as normal running, so it’s going to be a challenge. But I don’t really like things being about me – this should be about recipients of the charity.”

Michael Ferndale, who is set to run five marathons consecutively and in reverse.

Ferndale, who completed the notorious 257km Marathon des Sables in the Sahara Desert in 2016 before running the London Marathon backwards the following year, hopes his reverse running will inspire school children nationwide.

“This isn’t about me – otherwise there will be no legacy”, Ferndale said. “This is about children, and the real focus about it all is empowering young people, raising money for young people and inspiring them to do something different.

“I want young people to take ownership, discover newfound forms of confidence and make it into whatever reverse challenge they want it to be.”

Michael Ferndale will be tackling the Reverse Running Challenge between October 9-13 to raise money and awareness to help disadvantaged and disabled young people to fulfil their potential and build life skills. Visit https://donate.giveasyoulive.com/fundraising/michael-ferndales-reverse-running-challenge to make a donation.

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