THREE Merseyside athletes are embarking on a world record attempt to run seven marathons in seven days on seven continents.

The week begins with a 31-mile run through Antarctica and ends with an ultra-marathon around the streets of London.

Their only chance of a sleep will be on the plane in between stops.

Jack Jones, of Hoylake, Stuart Kershaw, of Formby, and Oliver Dudley, of Woolton, and teammate Chris Cuddihy will begin their endurance challenge in Antarctica on Sunday, March 15.

Over the following week, they will travel to Chile, Los Angeles, Sydney, Hong Kong and Johannesburg, before ending in London.

Oliver, Stuart and Chris are all record-breaking ocean-rowers.

Jack, 25, who hopes to raise money for the Hoylake Cottage charity, said: “This is something no-one has attempted before and we are hoping to end up in the Guinness Book of Records.

“The rest of the team have been training and planning this for six months, but I only got involved a couple of months ago when someone dropped out of the team due to injury.”