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Adventurer ‘Barefoot Aleks’ tells his story

Barefoot runner and adventurer Aleks Kashefi will be spending an evening sharing stories of his adventures at the Douglas Arms Hotel, Banchory, in just under a fortnight’s time (11 October).

‘A teacher who dreams of adventure and running mountains’, in 2015 Kashefi ran barefoot and unsupported from Land's End to John O’Groats, covering 1162 miles over 32 days.

After the completion of his adventure, Kashefi faced a choice: to live a life with a backpack, a pair of sandals and a spirit of adventure or to live a secure life with a good income.

There was no real choice. In August 2016, Kashefi set out on another challenge: to run 3846 miles from Arctic Norway to southern Spain, with nothing but those sandals on his feet and the kit on his back. Completing the epic challenge – in just 196 days – made Kashefi the first person to run the length of Europe.

Despite the scale of his challenges, Aleks, from Buxton in Darbyshire, does not consider himself an athlete. The science teacher only started running in the summer of 2012 – after downloading a C25k app for free.

His first challenge – Land’s End to John O’Groats – was a fundraiser for the Stroke Association, inspired by the death of his grandfather.

He told the BBC at the time, “I thought if I’m going to do something a bit daft, I might as well have a really good reason behind it.” He chose to go barefoot to 'add a bit of interest' and make it more of a challenge.

And the challenges haven’t stopped. Aleks is currently almost through a whole year of challenges, all dedicated to the memory of his step-father, who died last October.

Aleks will be speaking at 7.30pm, on Thursday, 11 October at The Douglas Arms Hotel, Banchory. For more information or tickets, email or phone the Douglas Arms.

Image: Aleks Kashefi (Facebook)

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