Nathan Farrugia is an entrepreneur, philanthropist and sits as chairman in a number of entities. He's one busy man and hard to make him sit down for a while...even for an interview.
He lives life fast, that's why he drives a 900cc bike and manages to juggle between multiple commitments, including family and voluntary work. Farrugia trains every single day. He wakes up early to make sure he gets at least 90 minutes of exercise each day.
"I manage to double the amount of exercise in weekends. But I make sure I exercise every day," he tells the Malta Independent in an interview. His exercise is a mix of running, cycling and swimming, early morning, late in the evening, in a hot summer or chilly winter.
Nathan Farrugia started growing keen on marathons and extreme endurance challenges ten years ago. The most memorable of his athletic achievements remains the 27 Marathon Challenge, a 27-day marathon in 27 different countries. It was his 27th marathon and Farrugia had managed to gain support of Ferrero, the international confectionery brand. The aim behind the marathon was to spread a message of solidarity while raising funds to support charity projects in Malta.
His latest marathon was called the Stoneman which he managed to finish in 16 hours. Although this challenge might not be the most challenging one he ever faced, a mix of cycling, swimming and running non-stop for such a long time, it is daunting to the untrained athlete.
"Stoneman is a different kind of marathon. Instead of competing against time, I had to compete against the elements. The result is that you end up in a much tougher environment, often off-road terrain but with a lot of beautiful scenery. You have to swim, cycle through the mountain for 180 kilometres and run a full marathon, uphill towards the top of the mountain."
Stoneman took the Ironman approach, another extreme marathon challenge but added the challenging geography.
"You start in the morning at 4am, you jump into the lake from a boat, swim in the dark, get to the bike and up to the mountain. It took me sixteen hours, and I ended up in tenth place out of some 100 participants."
I ask Nathan why he feels he needs to keep challenging himself to such an extreme.
"When it's for fund raising I do it for charity. But then there's an element of me time. I like exercise and I have time to think when I'm training. The traditional races tend to be about beating the other participants. This is more about experiencing the race."
"Sixteen hours is a lot of time on your own. You have time to think and at some point, your mind will start playing games. Your legs are tired and your thoughts are on about going back home. The trick is to hear these thoughts but keep strong and move on."
Combining fund raising and marathons can prove to be tricky. Often enough, fund raising organisation is more time consuming than training. So far, Nathan Farrugia's marathons have managed to raise hundreds of thousands of euros for local charities.
Ten years of extreme marathons still do not satiate his thirst for more. "I do have some other marathons in mind. Obviously the challenge is to balance between family, work and many other commitments. There are still a couple of challenges which I would like to participate in."
And with this in mind he explains that it's impossible to have finish line, because once you achieve something, you want to challenge yourself more.
"At the same time, I have to remember that I'm a parent and I can't put my life in danger. If I get hurt, I am the bread winner of the family."
Nathan shares his advice for those wishing to push their body and mental capability further.
"You have to get out of your comfort zone frequently. It's not about going extreme from nothing, you need to stretch your boundaries gradually. It's an exciting experience. There's a space in which you will feel scared, and sometimes this can be beautiful at the same time."
"Sometimes I had to face life and death situations, where my body was in a state of beyond exhaustion. Once, in one of these extreme challenges in Corsica, my kidneys stopped working. I experienced night blindness due to lack of glucose. It was scary but it helped me push my limits. The drive to get to the finish line makes you push further."
Nathan Farrugia is the one who does all the running, but he would not be able to complete these challenges without the help of dedicated team.
"My wife and my kids are constantly supporting me. And when it's a charity event, there's a big PR team behind me. I can't complain. I am the one who runs, but if there's no one to hand me water at the top of the hill, I would stop."