This man is running 30 marathons in 30 days around the streets of Dubai

'I think it is something in our blood, I don’t want to sit still, I don’t want to wake up tomorrow not thinking about my next challenge,' writes Marcus Smith, who is taking the Dubai Fitness Challenge to the next level

Marcus Smith, founder of Inner Fight Gym, will run 30 marathons in 30 days. Courtesy Duncan Chard / The National

While most participants in the Dubai Fitness Challenge are committing to doing 30 minutes of exercise every day for 30 days, Marcus Smith has taken things to a whole new level, by pledging to run 30 marathons in 30 days.

An ambassador for the month-long Dubai Fitness Challenge 2018, which kicked off on Friday, Smith has already completed four of his 30 marathons.

He's currently in the middle of his fifth.

On his first race, he was joined for the last 400 metres by his mother and sister, who saw him over the finish line.

A former professional rugby player, Smith retired from the sport in 2010 and now competes in CrossFit, cycling, running and extreme endurance events and challenges. He is also a motivational speaker, fitness coach and entrepreneur, having launched performance company, InnerFight, and Paleo food provider, Smith St Paleo.

The 39-year-old long-time Dubai resident charts many of his experiences and learnings on his blog, which offers a forthright insight into the psyche of an extreme athlete.

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After a particularly gruelling challenge in Oman recently, which he dubbed "the doorstep of hell", Smith wrote: “When you complete a challenge like this you naturally feel a great sense of achievement and that fuels thoughts for more challenges.

"I think it is something in our blood though, I don’t want to sit still, I don’t want to wake up tomorrow not thinking about my next challenge as, through the various ones that I have done, I have learnt so much about myself, my team mates and in turn life."

Follow Smith’s progress on Instagram on @mjd_smith. And if you see him on one of his runs, make sure to say hi. “Thanks to everyone that said “hi” to me this morning, yr “hi” lifts my morale massively,” he posted on Sunday.

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