An Irish ultra runner has revealed a bottle of beer helped him become the only man on the planet to run seven marathons on seven continents in less than five days.
Richard Donovan broke his own record by completing his final run in Sydney in four days, 22 hours and three minutes.
The 45-year-old admitted sleep deprivation, running, and travelling through different time zones and temperatures took its toll on his body.
“I was absolutely wrecked. I wasn’t even able to keep down water,” he said.
“We came to desperate measures in Sydney and I chanced a beer.
“I had one bottle of Heineken during the race for some carbs and one at the end of it.
“It was the first time something stayed down in days.” Mr Donovan, a father-of-one, began his epic quest in the extremes of Antarctica last Wednesday, running the first 26-mile leg in -20 degrees at the Russian Novo science base.
He has since ran 183 miles and flown 27,055 miles.
His round-the-world marathon took him from Antarctica to Cape Town, South Africa, to Sao Paulo, Brazil; Orlando, USA; London, UK; Hong Kong and finally Sydney.
His last record stood at five days, 10 hours and eight minutes.
PA