Zach Vella reaches Switzerland in his epic London to Malta charity run

Endurance runner Zach Vella has reached the third country of his “Miles from Home” challenge as he continues his run from London to Malta in aid of charity.

On Thursday, Vella hit Day 17 of his venture with the longest run to date as he met members of the Maltese community living in Switzerland.

Clocking 60.1km, Vella described his run towards Zurich as “the longest and the most beautiful”.

“Today was special,” he wrote in his daily update on his Instagram account @Homebound.mt.

“Caught up with old friends and met some new people too. You don’t even feel the legs when the conversation is flowing. Ended up clocking the longest run to date.”

Vella left London on March 22 aiming to run 2,700km to Malta via France, Switzerland, mainland Italy, and Sicily.

Through his “Miles from Home” challenge he hopes to raise €120,000 for YMCA Malta to help it strengthen its efforts and expand its drop-in centre and shelter services.

Vella crossed into Switzerland from France on Wednesday, the third country on his epic journey. He has already covered more than 25 per cent of the distance, running an average of around 55km every day.

On Thursday, Vella was joined by a small group of Maltese living in Switzerland, who ran and cycled part of the way alongside him as he headed towards Zurich.

“Entering lakeside has to be one of the most beautiful sights you would ever get to see, pristine water with the alps in the back,” Vella said.

And he took full advantage of the unseasonably warm Spring weather to finish off his run with a swim in the lake.

On Friday he continued towards Flums, planning to cover another 60km.

By the end of the day he will be on track to reach 995km out of 2,700km.

Despite the demands of running the equivalent of an ultramarathon each day, Vella remains in strong condition. By day 16 he admitted “the distance is starting to take a toll now”.

However, his morale remains high. “Calves like bricks today. But isn’t this what we signed up for? Not going to dampen our mood.”

Zach Vella running by the lake in Zurich on Thursday with Maltese living in Switzerland.

Speaking about the journey so far, Vella described the support he has received as a major source of motivation.

“Crossing into a third country feels like a real milestone. The support from Malta and beyond has been incredible, and knowing that this is helping raise funds for YMCA keeps me going every single day,” he said.

Vella is being supported by a small team handling logistics, route planning, and daily coordination, ensuring he can focus fully on the physical and mental challenge ahead.

He has so far raised almost €50,000 but is hoping he will reach his goal by the time he arrives in Malta in the middle of May, in time for the YMCA Europe General Assembly.

More information about the run, sponsorship opportunities and donations can be found here.