Costa Del Sol Resident Who Walked Malaga To Estepona In 24 Hours Just To See If He Could

George Nayda is nary alien to nan beauty of nan Costa del Sol, representing its properties regular arsenic a existent property agent. 

But connected his 38th birthday, Sunday, November 2, he decided to acquisition nan region successful an wholly caller and challenging way: stepping 83.15 km on nan coastline successful 24 hours, starting astatine midnight from Muelle Uno successful Malaga and finishing adjacent Estepona, again astatine midnight. What makes nan accomplishment moreover much staggering? He did it pinch zero training. Euro Weekly News caught up pinch George to find retired what drives a man to push himself to specified an extreme, unprepared, and pinch a staggering 112,299 steps.

EWN: George, what possessed you to effort this challenge? No training, an mean of little than 5,000 steps a time starring up to it… it sounds almost dangerous!
George: Maybe a little. I fundamentally wanted to do 2 things. First, arsenic personification who sells this coastline each day, I wanted to genuinely understand nan area connected foot, to consciousness nan region betwixt Malaga and Estepona. Second, it was astir discovering my limits. I hadn’t done immoderate sports for months, and I wanted to trial really acold I could spell wholly unprepared.

Fuengirola boardwalk successful nan wee hours.
Credit: GN

EWN: You mentioned being inspired by a YouTube video. Can you elaborate?
George: Yes, it was an thought referenced by nan ultra-endurance jock David Goggins: nan thought that erstwhile we deliberation we are perfectly done, we are only astatine astir 40 per cent of our existent capacity. That belief was nan backbone of nan intelligence game. I besides decided to complete nan full situation without euphony aliases immoderate entertainment. It was purely astir intelligence focus.

The sadistic reality of nan 24-hour walk

EWN: You started astatine midnight. What were those first hours like, trekking done nan dark?
George: The toughest hours were perfectly betwixt 00:00 and 06:00, fighting nan fatigue and nan darkness. It was a intelligence conflict against nan impulse to stop. I had already been awake each time Saturday, don’t forget. Ironically, nan beingness symptom successful nan past hours was acold much brutal, but nan intelligence spot was astir tested early on.

Fuengirola to La Cala de Mijas.
Credit: GN

EWN: How did you negociate to support going erstwhile your assemblage must person been screaming astatine you to stop?
George: Mentally, it wasn’t arsenic difficult arsenic physically. The existent problem started aft astir 12 to 14 hours. My precocious legs became incredibly stiff during immoderate short break, and each restart wounded much than nan last, taking longer to get into a due tempo. I really discovered nan powerfulness of micro naps, conscionable a fewer seconds, leaning against a wall, that amazingly helped maine continue.

EWN: Was location a infinitesimal that made each nan struggle worthy it?
George: Absolutely. The sunrise astatine 6.51am connected Carvajal Beach was nan astir beautiful infinitesimal of nan full walk. Seeing nan sun deed nan Mediterranean aft battling nan acheronian was an unthinkable lift.

Humour, heartbreak, and a cosmopolitan message

EWN: Walking for 24 hours, you must person seen and heard immoderate absorbing things. Do immoderate interactions guidelines out?
George: The champion relationship was pinch an English retired mates successful La Cala de Mijas. I stopped to chat and asked them nan concealed to their long, happy marriage. The man conscionable smiled astatine his woman and said: “Give and take… I give, and she takes.” A awesome consciousness of humour aft each those years together. It was a small, cleanable infinitesimal of quality connection.

Time for a remainder successful La Cala.
Credit: GN

EWN: This locomotion was besides important because it took spot connected your 38th birthday. Was location a deeper, individual meaning?
George: Yes. My dada passed distant erstwhile he was 38. Turning nan aforesaid age, I wanted to do thing meaningful, thing that progressive pushing myself beyond my perceived limits, alternatively of celebrating traditionally. It was a very individual tribute.

EWN: The aftermath sounded tough. Can you picture that?
George: It was really worse than I expected. Once I sewage home, I started shivering uncontrollably, needed a basking bath, and past shivered again. I had to deterioration a hoodie indoors conscionable to modulate my assemblage temperature. The adjacent time I could hardly guidelines aliases walk. It took a mates of days conscionable to beryllium reasonably mobile again.

EWN: So, aft going done each that, what is nan eventual connection you want to stock pinch nan Costa del Sol community?
George: My connection is simple: Life is short. If I tin execute this immense beingness and intelligence situation without immoderate training, what do you deliberation you could execute if you genuinely committed to something? We each person that 60 percent we haven’t accessed yet. Go find it.

George successfully walked from Malaga Muelle Uno, done Torremolinos, Benalmadena, Fuengirola, Mijas Costa, Marbella, San Pedro, and vanished adjacent El Paraiso successful nan Estepona area. Why? Some challenges are beyond words. It is thing you person to consciousness – a situation to return you to nan adjacent level of what you tin be.

Estepona successful sight.
Credit: GN