But one Scotsman is determined to run not one but 22 full marathons in 2022 come rain or shine. And that’s not all.
Jeffrey Ross has upped the ante by running the full marathons while dressed in silly costumes – all in the name of raising funds for selected charities in the country.
“At the start of 2022, it was looking a bit dire again for this year so I thought let me at least do something positive for this year so that by the end of this year, if Covid is still around then at least I can try and raise some money and do something,” said the 47-year-old.
Ross, who runs a sports event company named Fresh Events Asia Sdn Bhd, said the silly costumes were a way to gain the attention of the public, who he hoped would generously donate so he can hit his target of raising RM100,000 for the charities.
“The reason I wanted to do that is to draw attention to myself and to get people to look and see and laugh and smile and ask, ‘What are you doing, what is this crazy guy doing?’ So, if I just run normally you know, no one cares, no one will see,” he told FMT.
He said that the hardest part of running dressed in a costume is how “super hot” it got for him as his head was fully covered, intensifying the heat he feels and making the task of completing the marathon just that more difficult. He is now on the hunt to find more suitable costumes for his marathons.
Ross said his most popular costume is the tomato ketchup bottle, which is a favourite with children. His personal favourite however is a caveman outfit – for one simple reason – it’s the most cooling!
Partnering with crowdfunding platform Simply Giving, Ross has selected five local charities as the recipients of his fundraiser – Malaysian Red Crescent Society, The Lost Food Project, Yayasan Chow Kit, Paws Animal Welfare Society (PAWS), and Trap-Neuter-Release-Manage Malaysia.
He said that while all charities are meaningful, he tried to pick a range that he hoped people would be happy to donate to and that was close to his own heart.
For instance, the self-confessed “cat dad” chose PAWS as he believed that animal welfare is a big issue in Malaysia.
Ross has so far completed 11 out of the 22 marathons, and said he is saving a few for the end of the year as he anticipates more races will be held then. He ran his eleventh marathon on June 18.
“I’m hoping to get entry in those and to get a big crowd and hopefully raise some good money there, but yeah for the next couple of months, I’ll just do steady, slow and steady and then maybe take a break and finish it at the end of the year. That’s the plan,” he said.
“Please support me, I’m really torturing myself this year so we’re trying to raise as much money as we can for these five great causes.”
To support Ross’ fundraiser, head over to Simply Giving and follow him on Instagram for updates.