1,000 mile solo run across Nepal completed!

Vlad Morozov completes 1,000 miles solo run across Nepal.

Vladimir Morozov, 35, from Birmingham has just completed an incredible physical and mental test: running 1,000 miles across Nepal solo and unassisted.

Motivated to fulfill his dad’s desire to visit Nepal before he sadly passed away and combining his passions for adventure, nature and helping others, Vlad felt this was the perfect challenge for him.

Vlad completed the run in an incredible 66 days. Whilst he ensured he took a rest day once a week, he pushed himself to run c 30-40km a day and his longest run in one day covered a massive 54km.

The run encountered some extreme lows such as being without food for 30 hours, surviving a mugging attempt in the first week (a real anomaly given his subsequent interactions with the Nepalese people), being faced with leeches 3 times over, and banging his head on door frames on a daily basis (Vlad stands at 6ft tall whereas the average height of Nepalese male is c. 5ft 4in!). His feet took the brunt of the damage in the early days and left him with open sores and an inability to walk for 3 days. However, the lows were vastly outweighed by the highs: The incredible openness, generosity and friendliness of the Nepali people, being the first tourist ever to have visited some of the villages he passed through in the remote regions in Western Nepal and being able to admire the snow capped mountains of the Himalayas throughout days 50-52. Being surrounded by TV crews and adoring supporters who covered him in garlands and appreciated his efforts really spurred him on for the last tough leg.

Vlad’s key motivator to understand first-hand the issues that affected Nepal and see how the country itself, but also NGOs faced these problems, led him to collaborate with Nepal Youth Foundation, a charity offering hope and opportunity to the most vulnerable children in Nepal since 1992. Vlad knew how highly regarded NYF is in Nepal and found they shared similar values. He respected NYF’s programmes and its approach to sustainability, a key element in promoting a more secure future for Nepal’s young people. During his rest days Vlad was able to visit their projects and meet some of their beneficiaries. He comments: ”It was inspiring to see first-hand the amazing work NYF does. I saw children given real opportunities in life – looked after and given a proper education. The smiles on the children's faces said it all. Having met a lot of NYF staff, I can say they are all very professional, knowledgeable and very kind hearted. They all genuinely want to do as much good as possible. I have a lot of faith in NYF and would love to support them again in the future if I can”.

Through it all he raised £2,000 and hopes more will continue to come in to be able to support some of the most needy children in the world today. And as a keen photographer Vlad documented his journey with stunning images and videos and hopes to use the images to raise awareness about the severe poverty in Nepal, especially in rural areas, that grossly affects children. He would like to put any money raised towards NYF’s nutrition outreach camps in remote locations to help combat child malnutrition.

To find out more about Vlad’s journey or to donate please visit www.runacrossnepal.org

To learn more about the charity he is supporting please visit: www.nepalyouthfoundation.org.uk