Devon runner aims to break record

Carr is focussing on breaking records in the UK after hernia surgery

Woolacombe endurance runner Kevin Carr says he is hoping to break a series of records in the UK.

He was planning to become the first person ever to run the length of the Sahara desert unaided next February.

But Carr had a hernia operation at the end of September which cost him seven weeks worth of training.

He says he now wants to set a record for the fastest time taken to run from Lands' End to John O'Groats off-road and unaided in May next year.

He is also planning to break the marks for running around Dartmoor and Exmoor as he looks to get his fitness up for another crack at the Sahara in November 2009.

There was a chance that my intestine could get trapped in the muscle wall in my stomach. If that happened it would kill me within two or three days

Kevin Carr

"After the surgery I couldn't train for seven weeks so I lost a lot of fitness," Carr told BBC Devon.

He had the hernia while he ran around Devon earlier this year to prepare for the Sahara bid, but was told by doctors that it was too risky for him to go to the desert with the problem.

"There was a chance that my intestine could get trapped in the muscle wall in my stomach.

"If that happened it would kill me within two or three days without urgent treatment so there was no chance I could be in the desert with that."

Carr will start his 2009 campaign of long runs with attempts at circumnavigating Dartmoor and Exmoor in late March.

He will then combine those two runs for an extra-long challenge in April.

"Nigel Jenkins, who lives on Dartmoor, set the Dartmoor record in 1999 at 18 hours, so I would like to go under that," Carr said.

I don't want to stare at roads all day, there's lots of great countryside to see and it'd be beautiful to see the best parts of both countries.

Kevin Carr

"I haven't been able to find a record for Exmoor, so if it's not been done I'd like to set the record for that," he added.

That will then set him up for his bid to break a record between Lands' End and John O'Groats in May.

He says he has two options, either to run unaided along the roads or off-road.

"I'd much prefer to go off-road, but it's 250 miles further and much harder as you're up hills and in the mud.

"But it's where my heart is. I don't want to stare at roads all day, there's lots of great countryside to see and it'd be beautiful to see the best parts of both countries.

Off-road would also more closely mimic the conditions he would face in the Sahara.

"It's actually further than the Sahara challenge but it's not as tough as it's cooler and the ground will be firmer than the sand I'll be running on.

"Several people have walked it off road, but I haven't found a record for anyone who's run it."