Spencer Matthews just completed 30 marathons in 30 days across the Jordanian desert.
The reality star, 36, rose to fame on Made In Chelsea after having a privileged upbringing thanks to her father David, a billionaire hotelier with a net worth of £2billion.
Spencer’s charity trip across Jordan was a “humbling experience” and very different from her life of luxury without access to running water, toilets or electricity, while food was limited to chicken or pita bread.
Here he tells MailOnline about the harsh reality of surviving in the Jordanian desert as he faces his own enormous challenge…
‘I washed in dirty water once every few days, there were no toilets, we slept on the floor and I survived on pita bread’: Spencer Matthews has relived the horrors of running 30 marathons in the desert in an interview with MailOnline
‘We had no access to normal food and we rarely had cold water to drink. When it’s 44 degrees and you’re so thirsty, warm and hot water just isn’t enough. I’m not complaining about the food either because, in the end, I somehow didn’t get sick.
Spencer completed 30 marathons in 30 days across the Jordanian desert on Tuesday
The whole experience was one of the best of my life. If you could try to find comfort in pain, that would be a very powerful place to be.
People might look at this and think, “Wow, 30 marathons in the desert in 30 days straight,” but we were actually laughing on Tuesday night because we’re now in a hotel.
In the end, my body held up much better than I expected. I took preparing for this particular challenge very seriously.
It was a very dangerous challenge, unprecedented and had never been done before.
I’m not complaining about the living situation at all, but it was a challenge within a challenge.
There was no running water or toilets of any kind. There were no amenities. We slept on the ground and in the open air.
We had no access to normal food and we rarely had cold water to drink. When it’s 44 degrees and you’re so thirsty, warm and hot water just isn’t enough. I’m not complaining about the food either because, in the end, I somehow didn’t get sick.
It’s very rare that I run an ultramarathon for 30 days and not get sick. I’m grateful for that. I ate hummus, rice, chicken, and pita bread, and that was it for 30 days.
It’s an experiment, but for someone like me it was a humbling experience. It made me more aware of the things we take for granted, like the ability to go to the bathroom whenever we feel like it and wash our hands, and being able to live in a clean way.
The 36-year-old reality star rose to fame on Made In Chelsea after having a privileged upbringing thanks to her father David, a billionaire hotelier with a net worth of $2.6 billion.
There was no stable power source. These are all things you take for granted. My phone kept running out of battery and that was it for two days.
I went days without showering and by showering I mean we would find a hose somewhere or a faucet and lay on the cement floor and shower with warm water that was probably full of trash and I shaved my head.
At that moment you felt clean, alive and fresh again. You walk past a tap in the UK and don’t think much about it, but for us it was a lifesaver.
There was no stable power source. These are all things you take for granted. My phone kept running out of battery and that was it for two days.
I was hoping to be close to a town at some point to recharge. That was the reality.
Spencer’s epic desert challenge saw him run over 42.2km or 26.2 miles every day.
The presenter admits that after completing the gigantic journey, which took him 786 miles in temperatures of up to 38 degrees, he has felt proud.
Spencer, who battled alcohol addiction for years following her rise to fame on E4 reality show Made In Chelsea, has not always found pride and satisfaction easy.
It is impossible to run almost 1,300 kilometers without aches, pains and discomfort. I was amazed by the human body and my ability to recover.
When I went for a long run and hurt my knee, I would simply give myself a few days to recover, but that wasn’t an option here.
I had discomfort in my ligaments, joints, both knees, tendons, I had an endoscopy of the tendons on my right foot, both Achilles tendons felt like they had torn at one point, obviously they hadn’t, but that’s how it felt.
On the last day I had a really bad fall. Luckily, it was the last day. I was running quite fast on very rough terrain.
I stumbled so hard that I didn’t realize it until I rolled off the rocky edge. I was lucky not to hurt myself.
I was running relatively fast when it happened and there was a sudden impact so I was lucky I didn’t break my ankle or something and was able to continue.
I haven’t thought about the next challenge while completing it because every day was certainly a threat.
Crossing the finish line has closed the chapter of this challenge but has opened a completely new part of my life.
I know it sounds dramatic, but I’m pretty good at this and it’s something I love.
I’m not sure I’ll be planning a lot of 30-day albums again because our kids are pretty young and spending a month away from them is tough.
I need to publicly thank Vogue again for staying strong and taking care of our kids while I was away chasing this dream.
Spencer has been raising money for Global’s Make Some Noise charity, which supports other charities including the Childhood Tumour Trust, Suicide&Co and educational charities ATF and Playskill.
- To donate, go to https://Spencer-matthewschallenge.raiselysite.com
