Kettlebell-carrying fundraiser battles heat

A man attempting to carry two 20kg (three stone) kettlebell weights on a 110-mile (177km) fundraising walk said the heat on Monday was "outrageous".

Dan Kirkman's route is set to take him from Shropshire to Manchester where he plans to run a 10k race at the Great Manchester Run, still carrying the weights.

On Monday he walked from Congleton to Macclesfield, in Cheshire, in temperatures close to 30C (86F) and said: "The pace was slow yesterday, but I couldn't rush because it was so flipping hot."

He is raising money for Cancer Research UK and said, despite the physical hardship, it was "definitely worth every step".

He was inspired to make the charity walk after losing his father to cancer four years ago and seeing his mother also battle cancer.

Kirkman, from Pant, Shropshire, said: "There's a lot of people out there who are incredible and they deserve the best chance they can."

His original plan was to walk along the route of a canal, with a narrowboat providing him with support and a place to rest at night.

But that plan was scuppered by damage to Bosley Locks in Cheshire last week, he said, which meant his boat could not continue alongside him.

As a result he has had to complete his walk every day and then get a train back to Congleton, where the boat was forced to stop.

Barring a large blister on one foot, Kirkman said his body was coping with the demands of carrying the weights and his grip was not a problem.

But the extreme heat had been an issue.

He said: "Yesterday we walked from Congleton to Macclesfield, which was 13 miles and only half of it was in the shade and it was just absolutely brutal."

The final three miles on Monday was an "endless conveyor belt of doom", he added.

His solution was to take regular stops and seek shade under canal bridges where possible and by the end of Monday, he had completed 85 miles (137km) of his journey.

Kirkman said he had received support from people offering drinks and donations and "all these little things perk you up and push you on".

With 25 miles remaining, he said he aimed to complete another 10 on Tuesday before taking a rest day and then finishing on Thursday and Friday.

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