Elave Apothecary Skincare Announces Headline Sponsorship Of Get Better With Chris Spain Challenge As Christopher Connolly Set To Become The First Irish Person To Run The Length Of Spain In A 1,500+Km, 23-Day Journey

Elave Apothecary Skincare Announces Headline Sponsorship Of Get Better With Chris Spain Challenge As Christopher Connolly Set To Become The First Irish Person To Run The Length Of Spain In A 1,500+Km, 23-Day Journey

Elave Apothecary Skincare is thrilled to be supporting Chris by providing essential skincare for his skin from top to toe throughout the gruelling journey. Get Better With Chris will run from Tarifa to Cap de Creus with zero days off.

Chris Connolly, aka Get Better With Chris, is set to make history this September when he attempts to become the first Irish man to complete one of Spain’s most demanding ultra-endurance challenges – running the entire length of mainland Spain in just 23 consecutive days.

Starting in Tarifa in southern Spain on 21 September, Chris will run more than 1,500km to Cap de Creus on the country’s eastern coast, covering an average of at least 65km every single day, with zero days off. The challenge will see Chris cross 11 provinces, climb more than 11,000 metres, and cover the equivalent of approximately 36 marathons over the 23-day journey. He expects to spend between 10 and 13 hours moving every day, running through vastly different landscapes, climates and terrains as he makes his way from Spain’s southernmost point to its easternmost tip.

“Chris’s challenge is an incredible test of endurance, and we’re thrilled to be supporting him as headline sponsor,”says Joanna Gardiner, CEO of Elave Apothecary Skincare.

“We have always had a strong connection with people in sport and active lifestyles, so this partnership felt like a really natural fit for Elave. Chris will be putting his body through an extraordinary physical challenge, and his skin will be exposed to everything from intense sun and heat to long hours outdoors, so we’re proud to be able to support him with the care he needs throughout the journey. We’re incredibly excited to follow Chris and to be part of what is set to be an unforgettable challenge.”

But while the numbers tell one story, Chris is determined that the challenge will be about much more than distance. This journey will document the people, places and conversations Chris encounters along the way, with a dedicated videographer travelling the entire route to capture the challenge as it unfolds. Across 23 days, the audience will follow the daily realities of ultra-endurance running, from the kilometres completed and remaining to elevation, marathon equivalents, time on feet and Chris’s physical and mental wellbeing.

And at every stage of the journey, his skin will have its own challenge to face.

With 92 years of experience developing skincare for sensitive skin, Elave’s involvement brings an Irish skincare story into one of the toughest physical challenges an Irish athlete has undertaken. Its fragrance-free, sulphate-free and dermatologically tested products will form part of Chris’s daily routine as he faces prolonged exposure to the elements. For Elave, the partnership represents a natural extension of its long-standing philosophy around caring for skin as a whole, particularly when it is exposed to challenging conditions.

The inspiration for the challenge comes partly from the benchmark already set by Spanish endurance runner Sergio Turull, who completed the Tarifa to Cap de Creus route in 23 days, covering 1,502.58km. Chris is now taking on the same extraordinary distance, with the added ambition of documenting the experience in real time and bringing his audience along for every kilometre.

The route will take Chris through Andalusia, Murcia, Alicante, Valencia, Castellón, Tarragona, Barcelona and the Costa Brava, with the landscape changing dramatically every few days. And alongside the physical challenge, Chris plans to use the journey to explore the human stories he encounters on the road, opening up conversations around mental health, addiction, failure, resilience, family, purpose and what keeps people going when things get difficult.

“This isn’t just a run. It’s 23 days of live storytelling,” is the ethos behind the challenge, with every day offering a new location, a new physical test, a new conversation and another chapter of the story.

By the time he reaches Cap de Creus, he will have run more than 1,500km, spent approximately 230–300 hours moving, climbed more than 11,000 metres and completed the equivalent of around 36 marathons – all while documenting the experience for an audience following his progress from Ireland and beyond.

The Get Better With Chris Spain Challenge runs from 21 September to 13 October 2026.