Andrew Murray (doctor)

Andrew Murray (born c. 1980) is a Scottish doctor, runner and author who works for the Scottish Government promoting physical activity for health. He became widely known in January 2011 when he completed a 2659 mile run from John O’Groats in far north Scotland to Merzouga, in the Moroccan Sahara desert running an average of over 34 miles for 78 consecutive days.[1][2]

Murray was appointed as the Scottish Government’s Physical Activity Champion in February 2012 to work for Scotland’s Chief Medical Officer, and stated that "Becoming, or staying active, is the single best thing you can do for your health,"[3] In March 2012 he re-launched the Scottish Government’s "Take Life On" campaign with Sports Minister Shona Robison.[4]

He is a general practitioner and additionally works as a Sports and Exercise Medicine doctor for the European Tour Golf, the Scottish Rugby Union, and Heart of Midlothian FC. His professional interests include sports medicine and physical activity for health.

On 9 April 2012 he placed first overall in the North Pole Marathon despite having broken his wrist 10 days prior.[5]

In November 2012 he ran 7 ultramarathons on 7 continents within 7 days to promote the value of exercise for health. He completed 31 mile courses in Antarctica, Patagonia, Atlanta, London, Egypt, Dubai and Australia, where he finished on the Harbour Bridge in Sydney.[6]

On 19 July 2014 he is attempting to run up Britain's 10 highest peaks in a single day.[7]

In 2015, together with Donnie Campbell, he completed a crossing of the Namib desert. It took the men nine days to complete a 504km route from Lüderitz to Walvis Bay, running more than 50km every day on heavy sand.[8]

Additionally, Murray has won numerous endurance races which include The Sahara Race (Egypt) (2007), The Gobi Challenge (2009, 2012), the 6633 Ultra (2009), the Indo Ultra (2010), and the Scottish Ultra (2009).

He is the author of "Running Beyond Limits" (published by Mountain Media) which is an anecdotal account of his run from Scotland to the Sahara.[9]

References

  1. ↑ "Record breaker runs from Scotland to Sahara in 78 days". Metro News. 24 January 2011. Retrieved 8 July 2014.
  2. ↑ "Scotland 2 Sahara Challenge page: Well Done Andrew". www.scotland2sahara.com. Archived from the original on 4 April 2014.
  3. ↑ "GP runner Andrew Murray given sports education role". BBC News (BBC). 29 January 2012. Retrieved 5 May 2012.
  4. ↑ Booth, Samantha (13 February 2012). "Scottish Government target children in new exercise campaign". Daily Record (Trinity Mirror). Retrieved 5 April 2012.
  5. ↑ "North pole marathon won by Scot Andrew Murray". The Guardian (Guardian Media Group). 10 April 2012. Retrieved 5 April 2012.
  6. ↑ "Dr Andrew Murray completes ultra marathons challenge early". BBC News (BBC). 30 November 2012. Retrieved 13 July 2014.
  7. ↑ McCluskey, Finton (9 July 2014). "Scottish GP to conquer Britain's 10 highest peaks in a day". GP online. Retrieved 14 July 2014.
  8. ↑ "Scots ultra-runners complete epic trek across Namibian desert". BBC News (BBC). 14 February 2015.
  9. ↑ Murray, Andrew (2011). "Running beyond limits : the adventures of an ultra marathon runner". WorldCat. Retrieved 14 February 2015.

External links