A MAN who won a TV travel challenge is in his final stretch of training ahead of another marathon.

Emon Choudhury and his nephew Jamiul were crowned winners of BBC Two's Race Across the World - a show that gripped the nation at the start of the first lockdown, 2020.

Choudhury, of Saltaire, is running this year’s Manchester Marathon on Sunday, April 16, and he will be completing the 26.2-mile route while fasting and without taking on any food or water during the event too.

It’s not the first time that the Bradford runner has taken up such an extraordinary challenge, as last year he completed the Manchester Marathon under the same conditions, however, he admitted that this year’s event has thrown up some different considerations for himself.

He said: “Because the run is halfway through Ramadan, my body will already be in the zone of fasting, so, it won’t be too different to what I’m doing anyway (Manchester Marathon). Last year when I did it, it was right at the start of Ramadan, so it felt different. This time around I’ve been able to do specific training for the marathon in relation to fasting and Ramadan – and that’s included intermittent fasting – which I’ve mainly done on a Sunday alongside a longer distanced run.

He added: “I’ll be extremely proud of myself if I complete it for a second time, even more so than last year’s Manchester Marathon. It will be more poignant for me because this time around it will be three weeks into Ramadan, so by that stage my body will be depleted of reserves because of the fasting.

“The thought of that does scare me because after last year I realised that what I’m doing is very dangerous. I wouldn’t recommend anyone to do it. I’ve got doctors, nutritionists and physios behind me and they’re always guiding me on what to do, and I’ve also been training with all this in mind for the past six months. So, I’m very well prepared for it and I’m not going into it blind.”

The Bradford runner added: “Training has been going well so far and with Ramadan starting today (Thursday), my training intensifies even more. When you’re this close to a race it’s important that you shorten your runs because you don’t want to overdo it in the final stretch. I’ve started doing timed runs between ten and fifteen kilometres now that I’ve completed the longer distances in my training plan. I’m feeling good and I’m confident ahead of April 16. “

Ahead of the Manchester Marathon Choudhury is looking to raise an initial target of £7,777 for Motor Neurone Disease (MND) West Yorkshire and MND association, after meeting Leeds Rhinos player, Rob Burrow, who has the condition, and his former rugby league team-mate, Kevin Sinfield, who completed seven ultra marathons in seven days in November last year, also for MND charities.

He said: “I was fortunate enough to meet Rob Burrow (former Leeds Rhinos player) and I was just in awe of him. I was fascinated by his journey because he’s overcome and accomplished so much. I looked into the charity itself and it’s a horrific disease, but it’s not just the people who are diagnosed with it that are affected; it’s the family members and close friends as well, because they need to look after that person on a daily basis. I wanted to see what I could do to raise some money and awareness for this horrible disease and that’s why I’m running this marathon."

Go to https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/emon? utm_source=copyLink&utm_medium=fundraising&utm_content=emon&utm_campaign=pfp-share&utm_term=fe45f31f26d04931b2628949e0d45970 to make a donation.