A former world number one Call of Duty player who reached 19st by playing the game for 12 hours a day beat his addiction to lose 6st and run 74 ultramarathons.

Sam King, 32, became addicted to video games when he was 15 years old and was declared the highest-ranked Call of Duty video gamer in the world.

When he moved to London at 19, Sam realised that he needed to lose weight, enrolled in a gym and went five times a week.

Then in February, 2018, his brother, Martin, asked Sam if he wanted to run the London Marathon, and despite never running before and only having two months to train he said yes.

Sam ran the marathon in just under three and a half hours and "got the bug" - leading him to lose 6st 7lbs in 10 months."

Now, Sam is taking the colossal challenge to complete 74 ultramarathons in 74 days as a tribute to his mum, Penny, who suffered a brain injury in January 2025.

Sam is expected to reach his goal by December 9, beating the current world record set by Krishan Singh Badhwar, who ran 60 ultramarathons in 60 days.

Sam, a former management consultant, said: "Over the last eight years, I have got into running, and I developed an interest in running as far as I can."

"I have run marathons, ultra marathons and multi-day marathons, and over the last few years I have been intrigued to see how many ultra marathons I can run in a row."

"When I first started running, I could barely do a 5k - I never thought I would be able to run like this."

"After getting into gaming and weighing 19 stone, the last thing I would ever have imagined is that I would become an ultra runner and break world records in this space."

At 19 stone, Sam struggled with his weight. Growing up, he said he was addicted to playing Call of Duty - and was declared the world number one.

On average, Sam would spend 10 to 12 hours a day on Call of Duty, which impacted his education as he stopped attending college.

The World Health Organisation estimates that between 700,000 and 1 million people suffer from gaming addiction in the UK.

After moving to London, when he was 19, Sam decided to lose weight - shedding 6st 7lbs in 10 months - by going to the gym five times a week.

He said: "I was number one in the world on Call of Duty at one point."

"I'd be up all night playing it."

"But as a result of that phase, I put on a lot of weight; I ate rubbish and was smoking and drinking."

Soon after his weight loss journey began in February 2018, Sam's brother, Martin, asked if he wanted to join him on the London Marathon - despite having never run before.

Sam agreed and had two months of training, and finished the marathon in just under three and a half hours.

He said: "I never do things by halves. "

"So when my brother asked me to do the London Marathon, even though I'd never been a runner and only had two months to train, I agreed."

"I soon got the bug and would run daily - it was a way to prove my old self wrong."

Since then, Sam has run over 100 marathons, ultramarathons and multi-day marathons - and is currently running 74 ultramarathons in 74 days - one for every year of his mum's life.

In January 2025, Sam was working from his mum's house when his mum suffered a subarachnoid haemorrhage.

Doctors told Sam and his family that his mum might not survive, but she recovered and now requires constant care.

Sam said: "We enjoyed taking our coffees out and sitting on a bench to watch the sunrise."

"Afterwards, I flipped my laptop open to start work, and the next thing, my mum's best friend - who she'd been living with - screams my name."

"I knew something bad had happened. I went upstairs, and mum was falling to the ground."

"I held her and called 999. We live quite far away from any services."

"It took 45 minutes or so for the ambulance to arrive, and mum was fitting and barely breathing."

"It was the worst day of my life."

After his mum's injury, Sam decided to use his love of running and complete 74 ultra marathons in 74 days - one for each year of his mums life - which he started on September 27, 2025.

Any money raised from the challenge will go to Headway UK - a charity that works to improve life after brain injury.

So far, Sam has completed 47 ultra marathons and said his biggest challenge was catching the flu by day 20.

Sam said: "I had a few challenges to begin with, the first few weeks were horrible, my body and mind were rejecting everything."

"I had injured my right foot on the fifth day, and my feet were swollen, so I had to wear trainers two sizes bigger."

"By day 20, I got a bug and was projectile vomiting, all that, and then we've had bad weather - I have been running in 50mph winds."

Sam is due to complete his 74th ultra marathon on December 9, 2025 and will be finishing the challenge at the church his mum goes to every Sunday.

Once finished, Sam will have broken the current world record of consecutive ultramarathons, which was set in January 2023.

Sam said: "My mum has been super proud of me my entire life, no matter what I do."

"She was super ill earlier this year when I announced this challenge, so I don't really think she understood what I was doing."

"But she has got a lot better, and was able to come watch me earlier in the month and tell me how proud of me she is."

"I can tell this means the world to her."

If you wish to donate to Sam's funding page, visit: https://givestar.io/gs/project-74?fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQMMjU2MjgxMDQwNTU4AAGnVoWMJ2T86DdvRjAuFgOJDslUnqNHmKhNXvv_K5rCvfYB4Do0JxJRSt6aeE8_aem_NuuKHBWio26VGzB5mf0yCA