Wolverhampton’s James March has just finished one of the toughest physical challenges on the planet.
The Jungle Ultra in Peru, which only takes 50 people a year, is not for the faint-hearted, winding its way through 230km of the Amazon Rainforest in Manu National Park.
But March spent five days raising thousands of pounds for charity by taking on the challenge head-on in honour of his mother Wendy, who has multiple sclerosis and has lost mobility.
‘This race was brutal’
March, who was joined on the run by his fellow participant Greg Garner from Newcastle-under-Lyne, posted on Instagram: “The Jungle Ultra 2025 – where do we begin? Over the past three to four years, our fundraising has been driven by one purpose; to inspire others not to take their movement for granted.
“As a testament to my mother and others with mobility issues, we’ve looked to do this through entering the world’s toughest endurance races.
“We wanted tough, and the Jungle Ultra delivered that and more. 230km through the Amazon Rainforest, along the most remote trails imaginable that have been explored by fewer than 100 people, pushing through scorching heat, overwhelming humidity, hungry wildlife looking to devour you at any given opportunity, and unforgiving, relentless climbs and slopes. This race was brutal “
Choked with mud and humidity
Organisers Beyond the Ultimate describe the Jungle Ultra as: “Our hardest ultra marathon. Choked with mud and humidity, the thin air doubles the effort required to move testing all of your physical and mental resilience. This is a race like no other.”
March and Garner prepared for the challenge by using an environmental chamber at the University of Wolverhampton to acclimatise to the intense heat and humidity of the rainforest.
But nothing could prepare them fully for what happened on day three of their epic adventure, which despite being the shortest day at only 24km, ended up being by far the toughest.
March told the BBC: “That might have been what looked like the easiest. But it was a brand new day, they’d just been given a fresh part of the jungle which the race organisers were now protecting and so they’d made [a] fresh trail for us, which sounds amazing, but what it actually means is it’s very narrow track.
“Climbing up waterfalls”
“You’re in the thick of the jungle and for the whole 24km it was vertical climbs and vertical descents, climbing up waterfalls, going down rivers. [It was] really muddy, really thick. And it was extremely humid that day. It was over 30 degrees.”
The pair spent around eight to nine hours a day on their feet on the trail before bathing in rivers at night and sleeping in hammocks.
Cutting-edge research
They raised over £8,000 for the Walkoncemore charity, which funds cutting-edge research into a cure for people with conditions like Wendy’s.
The next Jungle Ultra takes place on May 31 next year, while the next event in Beyond the Ultimate’s Global Race Series is the Mountain Ultra in the Tian Shan Mountains on July 28.
