ULTRA MARATHON man Jackson Griffith battled against injury as he completed an astonishing feat of human endurance by running the length of Lebanon and raising almost £10,000 for charity.

Epping resident Griffith and running partner John Tyszkiewcz set themselves the amazing challenge after meeting members of the SOS Children’s Villages in the Asian country’s capital of Beirut, which works to provide homes for orphaned and abandoned children.

As the event gathered momentum, the pair’s exploits reached the ears of the Lebanese President, Michel Sleiman.

And after they had crossed the finish line, following a 160 mile trek, they were granted an audience at the palace with him, when he was keen to learn why the two runners had chosen his country as the setting of their incredible journey.

“His first question was, ‘why here?’,” recalled Griffith. “We told him all about the SOS Villages charity, but he was quite surprised that we decided to run it in his country.”

The achievement is made even more remarkable by the fact that Griffith suffered a suspected stress fracture in his leg 40 miles from the end.

Incredibly, with just a piece of clothing wrapped around his leg, acting as a makeshift bandage, the 38-year-old hobbled on and completed the course in just over 50 hours.

However, he insists that he was able to block out the pain at the sight of some of the orphans he was helping to raise money for greeting him along the way.

“My leg swelled to twice its size, but I was determined to finish. I had to limp home and finish what we had started,” said the courageous athlete.

“I couldn’t go to the President afterwards and say ‘I couldn’t finish because I hurt my leg.’ Plus, we had raised so much money for SOS – there was so much at stake.

“It actually motivated me even more. I’d rather have that pressure than not.

“I thought, the injury will heel, but the feeling of not finishing will last a lot longer.

“It was such an emotional journey. There were a lot of highs and lows, but to see the orphaned children at 4am waiting with burning torches and cheering for us really chokes you up.

“All the pain disappears when you see them and the adrenaline kicks in.”

The pair’s epic adventure took them from Aarida, on the Syrian border in the north, down to Naoura on the border of Israel in the south.To say it was an eventful journey is a gross understatement. Griffith and his companion were escorted along the course by a military guard, and after little more than 10 miles in they needed the protection, as they were pelted with stones by mischievous children at a Palestinian refugee camp.

Travelling along the coast to avoid the troubled mountainous regions, the pair passed through more than 30 military checkpoints. They ran through villages and country lanes and only paused for 15 minute intervals, when they would grab precious moments of sleep to rest their aching bodies.

“The logistical support we received was amazing,” added Griffith. “Military support vehicles followed us all the way, mainly because of the terrible traffic there and all the checkpoints we passed.

“Some regions were safe, and some were not, especially towards the south. But we just got on with it. The longer you're there the more comfortable you feel.”

Money is still flooding in to support the pair, and SOS Children's Villages corporate liaison and challenges coordinator Caroline Baker was delighted with the contribution Griffith and his partner have made to the Cambridge-based charity, which operates in over 200 countries worldwide.

“We're immensely grateful to Jackson and John for helping raise money and raise the profile of our charity,” she said. “They've shown incredible determination and for them to do it for our benefit is amazing.

“The money will go towards helping orphaned and abandoned children be given a family and provide basic welfare, as well as giving them the simple things in life children need.”

Griffith hopes to be fit to compete in his next event, a 145 mile run from Birmingham to London in three weeks time.If you want to contribute towards SOS Children's Villages, you can sponsor Jackson at www.justgiving.com/tlu165, and for more information on the charity visit www.soschildren.org.