Running 20 miles on land is a feat in itself. Running it while crossing the Irish Sea is a whole new animal.
BBC Blue Peter presenter Lindsey Russell began her attempt to navigate the 32 km of open water between Donaghadee in Northern Ireland and Portpatrick in Scotland at 6:30 a.m. local time on Thursday morning, according to BBC News. She is undertaking the 14-hour journey in a zorb, an inflatable apparatus that is propelled with forward motion — i.e. it works similarly to a hamster ball.
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The 25-year-old wave runner is making the trip in support of Sport Relief, a biennial charity event that raises money to help those in need of assistance in the United Kingdom. “I’ve been training for months for what will be the biggest and best challenge of my life, but I don’t think anything can prepare me for what the Irish Sea has in store,” she told the Belfast Telegraph before departing. “Something I do know is that I’ll give it everything I’ve got — I am so determined to make it to Scotland and I hope it inspires everyone watching to get up and get involved with Sport Relief this year.”
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