An Irish man who has become the only person to run seven marathons on seven continents in less than five days has revealed that a bottle of beer was the secret to his success.

Richard Donovan managed to break his own record when he completed his final run in Syndey on Sunday, after running 295km in four days, 22 hours, and three minutes.

The 45-year-old Galway man admitted that sleep deprivation and running through different time zones took a toll on his body.

"I was absolutely wrecked. I wasn't even able to keep down water," he told the Press Association.

"We came to desperate measures in Sydney and I chanced a beer.

"I had one bottle of Heineken during the race for some carbs and one at the end of it.
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"It was the first time something stayed down in days."

The father of one began his challenge last Wednesday in Antarctica when he ran the first 42km-leg in -20C at the Russian Novo science base.

He touched down in several locations such as Cape Town, South Africa; Sao Paulo, Brazil; Orlando, USA; London, UK; Hong Kong, and finally Sydney, for his round the world challenge. His previous record stood at five days, 10 hours and eight minutes.

"I never contemplated I was not going to finish," Donovan said.

He completed the challenge to help raise awareness of the humanitarian crisis in the Horn of Africa. All money raised through www.worldmarathonchallenge.com will go to the Irish aid agency GOAL.