London-to-Malta charity runner reaches France in first week of challenge
Zach Vella covered around 356km in the first seven days of the ‘Miles from Home’ challenge
A Maltese endurance runner who is aiming to run from London to Malta for charity has reached France in his first seven days of the attempt.
Zach Vella, a 33-year-old athlete from Mġarr, is undertaking the ‘Miles from Home’ challenge to raise funds for homeless and roofless people in Malta. The total run covers more than 2,600 kilometres and is expected to take Vella more than six weeks.
The runner covered 356 kilometres in the first week of the challenge, reaching France on the third day. He is now travelling south through the country on route to Switzerland, his team said in an update Sunday.
Vella is said to be in “good spirits” while tackling an average of more than 50 kilometres per day across varied terrain, a feat his team said “continues to test both physical and mental limits”.
After Switzerland, he will pass through Italy on his way to Malta.
The runner is aiming to raise more than €100,000 for YMCA Malta, as the organisation plans to expand and enhance its Ċentru Albert Degiorgio drop-in centre, and its shelter services. The charity has reported growing demand for its services.
Along the way, Vella is being supported by YMCA networks in various countries, and his arrival in Malta is expected to coincide with the YMCA Europe general assembly, which will bring more than 120 delegates and leaders to the island.
Vella is joined along the route by a small team providing logistical assistance, and friends who have joined him for sections of the run to offer encouragement and solidarity.
Last month, the endurance runner told Times of Malta he had “always wanted to do a crazy challenge like this... If you are going to do a great challenge, then the impact should be great as well.”
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