'I'm running a gruelling 2,722-mile challenge across 9 nations - this is who inspired me'

A young man is setting out to become the first person to run from the northernmost part of Europe to Britain's capital city. Luke Bellingham, 23, is planning on running from Nordkapp, in , to London this summer in aid of a new children's charity.

The run, which has a total distance of 4,380km (2,722 miles), is expected to take him 73 days. Luke, a dedicated and retail expert at Alpha Running in Lichfield, plans on covering 60km per day without any rest - the equivalent of running a mammoth 95 consecutive marathons.

He will start his journey just 300 miles inside the Arctic Circle, before running through nine countries, including Norway, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, France, and finishing in the UK. Luke said he is inspired by Russ Cook, also known as the Hardest Geezer, who became the first person to run the length of Africa last year.

He explained how he ran his first half marathon while at university in London. After completing his degree in journalism, he then went home and returned to his job at B&M before signing up for a 'backyard ultra marathon'.

Luke ended up running 73km around a 3km loop in a total of 12 hours. This got him thinking, could he go on and do something much bigger?

He said: "Inspired by individuals like Russ Cook and Nedd Brockmann taking on their own incredible challenges, I found myself thinking - why not me? When I discovered that a run from Norway to England had never been attempted, I knew this was my opportunity to attempt something truly unique."

He plans to start the record-breaking run at the start of August and has already started planning for the challenges that he might face along the way. Luke began training six months ago and is expecting unpredictable weather and varying terrain throughout the run.

His training consists of a combination of strength work and running. He is currently spending around two hours in the gym and running over 100km a week.

Luke said: "I thought it would be easy to get on with it [the training]. Although there are some days where I can't be bothered, I really enjoy the running side. I started slowly, running 5km four days a week. I thought it would be best to strip it back and restart the training.

"I then added 1km to each run per week and then doubled it and carried on. The first week I barely ran 30k and then last week I did 140k. I started a bit earlier than I needed to but I think that's a good thing."

In terms of nutrition, Luke said usually starts the day with porridge which includes fruit, protein powder, peanut butter and honey. He added: "Then standard sandwiches for lunch or something from the Iceland around the corner! And a classic Tesco meal deal before I run the 20km home - it must include a white Kinder Bueno!"

Luke admitted that planning the journey route has been a big part of his preparation so far. He has also had to plan how many calories he needs to consume each day, what equipment he needs to take and how he plans to recover.

He explained: "There's a few of us in the team. I'll be the only one running but one of them will drive the van and we'll be doing frequent social media updates with pictures and videos of the run. They'll be helping me get through each day as best as possible.

"To start with, we just used Google Maps to plan out the route. I managed to get the route to avoid motorways, taking us down the coast of Finland, Denmark and Sweden. I then used Google Earth to map out 60km stretches each day.

"Because of the location, I think the start in Norway will be quite a baron route with not many cars around. Also, when I start, there will be around 18 hours of daylight every day. But I'd rather that than complete darkness!"

During the run, Luke aims to consume around 7,000 calories per day depending on elevation and heat. He expects to burn around 500,000 calories through the whole journey and will be relying on frozen and dried meals to get through.

Luke is raising money for The Kids' Village, a charity on a mission to build the UK's first purpose-built holiday village for seriously ill children. Located in the Staffordshire countryside, the village will include 10 four-bedroom lodges and a central facility called "The Hive".

He said the charity stood out to him because of their mission and the people that run it. "You can see why its such an important charity and I want to help progress them forward", Luke explained."

"The first ultra marathon I completed was sponsored by them. I then researched them more and saw that what they were doing was a UK first. This made me want to help them out as much as possible. They're genuinely good people in the local community."

The charity gained planning permission for the project in 2023 and is now raising funds to make it happen. They describe the site as a "unique holiday village" designed to give free breaks to critically-ill children and their families.

The charity said on its website: "We're making a special space in nature for rest, to have fun and to be looked after. This means that (when Kids' Village is complete) we'll be able to offer free breaks to families who've navigated difficult and exhausting days in hospital, to experience some magic away from the world."

The village will include cosy woodland lodges that are decorated for each individual child. The ceilings may turn into a night sky, there may be a princess dress up walk-in wardrobe or even a lego kingdom built under a bed.

There will also be a host of activities for the children and their families to enjoy during their stay. These events will take place in "The Hive" - a central facility, café and check-in.

Luke has set himself a goal of £10,000 on his online fundraiser. However, he hopes to raise as much money as possible for The Kids' Village.

"I've set a goal of £10,000 but that's a big reach. This is the first challenge I've ever done, so I didn't want to set the bar too high," Luke said. "But if it gets to £10,000 then I'd love to raise more. The sky is the limit really."

Sam Fletcher-Goodwin, the founder of The Kids' Village, said: "Luke's incredible challenge embodies everything that Kids' Village is about: hope, determination and courage. We're inspired by his resilience and will be cheering him on as he makes the long journey from Norway to London this summer!

"It means a huge amount to us that Luke has chosen to raise money for us. We're a small charity, a tiny team with huge plans and ambitions- I guess a lot like Luke!

"His efforts will go towards supporting hundreds of families who are experiencing horrible circumstances, just as I did as a child and it blows me away every time somebody joins me on this journey to build the UK's first Kids' Village."

Amy Jacklin, the Fundraising Executive for the charity, added: "Luke has dedicated the last six months to training and we have followed his journey very closely, after he entered into a local team event 'One More Lap' last year solo, raising £400 for Kids' Village. We have been working with him to get ready for this huge adventure.

"A big thank you goes to Luke for taking on this challenge and everyone supporting him to get this far. Luke has given up so much to do this challenge and we will be cheering him on every step of the way. Good luck!"

To donate money for the cause, To read more about The Kids' Village project,