A former youth cricketer from Hong Kong hopes to become the first person to run the length of Sri Lanka. He will run during the Christmas period to raise funds for children with cancer.
Rahul Sharma, 24, plans to begin his endurance challenge on Christmas Eve in Point Pedro, in the north of Sri Lanka. He will run to Dondra Head in the south of the country, covering 574km (356.7 miles) by December 30.
Sharma currently works as an exercise physiologist in Melbourne, Australia.
He is an Indian national born and raised in Hong Kong who grew up running and playing sport in the city. He had played at the Hong Kong Cricket Club since he was 10 and for Hong Kong’s under-19s cricket team from 2018 to 2019.
Sharma said the challenge had not been attempted before, adding that he planned to run about 100km a day.
He said the trip was part of his efforts to raise at least A$20,000 (HK$101,470 or US$13,052) for the Children’s Cancer Institute, a Sydney-based research organisation dedicated to curing childhood cancer.
Erase Poverty Hong Kong, a local charity, pledged to donate HK$10,000 (US$1,286) after Sharma completed the challenge, according to his team.
