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It's Beirut or bust for charity marathon runners
Tim Stewart03.04.09
TWO adventurers are to run the length of Lebanon non-stop in 40 hours on a charity challenge.
City workers Jackson Griffith, 37, and John Tyszkiewicz, 47, have completed almost 100 marathons.
They have braved Arctic temperatures of minus 35C hauling sleds across Alaska, endured 50C heat in the Sahara for the 150-mile Marathon des Sables and have kayaked for 38 hours from Wiltshire to Westminster.
Mr Griffith, of Epping, and Mr Tyszkiewicz, of Saffron Walden, both married fathers-of-three, have raised more than £250,000 for charity.
They will cover 165 miles of Lebanon, from the Syrian border in the north to the Israeli border in the south, crossing mountains and taking in Tripoli and Beirut.
Lebanon's president, Michel Sleiman, has asked to meet them, as has Miss Lebanon Rosarita Tawil.
They came up with the idea after visiting a village for orphaned and abandoned children in Beirut, supported by SOS Children's Villages, for which they aim to raise £10,000. They will set off on 5 April.
Mr Griffith, who works for a credit rating agency, said: "The toughest aspect is finding the psychological strength. We still carry injuries from the kayaking four years ago. I have scar tissue and John cannot bend his arm properly."
Insurance broker Mr Tyszkiewicz, a former Army officer, said: "You never think about doing 165 miles, only about the next corner. The finish can be a bit of an anti-climax - you collapse in a heap. This time, we will throw on our gladrags and meet the president."
