4,500 km and half a million calories: the sacrifice of the fan following his team to the race

Southampton lies on the south coast of England, Burnley in the northwest of the country. There are 433 kilometers between the two cities.

A distance that, for a normal fan, should not exceed five hours of driving, but for Scott Cunliffe meant nine days and about 60,000 calories.

The difference is that Cunliffe did run. each kilometer in which he was the first of the 19 destinations he plans to visit in Burnley during the current Premier League season.

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] Up to now, he has already participated in the seven games played out by the Clarets team, ending The equivalent of 45 marathons in 38 days, during which he has already exceeded two million steps in his instrument counter. [19659011] Copyright of the Image
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On the horizon, three games will be held in London against Crystal Palace, Tottenham and Arsenal, which will mark the start of the most demanding part of their RunAway Challenge, the proposed challenge to highlight the problems of stress disorder posttraumatic or PTSD, affection that he himself suffered.

Running Therapy

Still at Turf Moor, Burnley Stadium, Cunliffe will have to travel three times the 320 km that separate him from the British capital. from this week with the meeting in front of the palace.

Then he will go to Wembley on Saturday the 15th, return home on Sunday in the morning and will be from to identical to to late. will resume racing the following weekend against Arsenal.

"It will be 14 days in a row and I will have to run 60 kilometers a day," Cunliffe told BBC Sport. s.

Cunliffe decided to badociate his love for Burnley with his pbadion for ultra marathons upon his return to England this year, after two decades serving humanitarian organizations in Southeast Asia.

Witness violent conflict and extreme poverty in the region. Cunliffe suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and depression so he is perfectly aware of the difficulties faced by those who suffer from it.

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The race was one of the things that helped him the most during his therapy and that's why he decided to start with this project to raise funds and involve the Premier League clubs in a common cause.

"There are more things in common in football than the differences and bitterness that usually exist," he said.

"There is rivalry, but also more unity than does it seem . As an amateur amateur, you realize that, all the time, you talk to fans of rival teams and it's something natural and natural. "

Life on the Road

At the end of the current football season, Cunliffe will have traveled over 4,500 km and consumed about 500,000 calories.

the challenge takes him all his time and when he does not run, he looks for sponsors for his cause.

Some days he admits that he has problems to start running, but that once on the road, problems usually disappear .

Especially when he remembers that running was one of the keys to his recovery.

"I want to use my experience for the benefit of others and football is the perfect way to bring people together in this cause," he concluded.

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