( CNN ) -- When New York City Marathon organizers announced that the destruction wreaked by Hurricane Sandy would not cause the cancellation of Sunday 's prestigious race , few people will have been as relieved as Adam Chataway . The Londoner is a man on a mission -- he ran five marathons on five continents before making it to the Big Apple , and cycled the last leg of the journey from Boston . Sunday 's race will be his sixth in less than 30 days , all run to honor the memory of his late fiancee and provide an education for Ethiopian children . `` There are fallen trees , electricity poles and stuff like that , '' the 34-year-old told CNN from the roadside after the hurricane had caused widespread disruption along the east coast of the U.S. `` It has certainly made it more interesting . I imagine the fine people of New York will show their character and come out and represent . I 'm sure it will be a special occasion . '' The superstorm has claimed more than 140 lives across North America and the Caribbean , but that has not deterred Chataway as he moves closer to the final 26.2 miles of his task . `` I think people thought we were daft when we said we were going to cycle from Boston to New York , but now they know why , as we could n't have flown to New York , '' he said after arriving in the U.S. on Tuesday . `` There has n't been too much of a chance to get a sense of people . Obviously it is all over the news and I think people , especially here on the eastern seaboard , are a little bit shellshocked . '' His global quest began in South America on October 7 with the Buenos Aires marathon . He has since completed a punishing schedule which included races in Australia , Jordan , Kenya and the Republic of Ireland . The long road Chataway has traveled began in 2006 when his bride-to-be Vicky was killed in a cycling accident on her way home from work in London . Adam established `` Vicky 's Water Project '' in her memory to help bring clean water to a region of Ethiopia . `` I was fortunate enough to get a lot of time off work and I wanted to do something worthwhile with it , '' explains Chataway . `` I worked with the charity ActionAid to establish a project in Ethiopia , which is now up and running . As a result of that being set up , children no longer need to spend all day collecting water . So there 's now a shortage of classrooms . '' The shortage gave birth to Chataway 's latest fundraising venture , which he hopes will generate enough money to build four classrooms in the Lera Town area of Ethiopia . He set off with the aim of raising Â£10,000 ( $ 16,000 ) , but he is close to doubling that figure . To date , Chataway has collected around Â£18,000 in his `` adventure of a lifetime . '' Chataway comes from a family with running pedigree -- his father Christopher is a former 5,000 meters world record-holder and was a pacemaker when fellow Briton Roger Bannister became the first man to run one mile in under four minutes in 1954 . `` I wanted to do every marathon close to the three hours and 45 minutes target , '' Adam said . `` I thought it was pushing myself close to the limit while also being able to sustain it . All of them have been there or thereabouts , my legs have held up to the rigors of it . '' Chataway might not have met that target -- clocking four hours and 45 minutes for the Nairobi marathon in Kenya -- but he did achieve something even his father and the great Bannister would have struggled with . In his schedule , the Nairobi and Dublin Marathons were numbers four and five respectively , which presented a problem . The two races were on consecutive days and being staged on different continents . `` The Nairobi marathon was at seven on Sunday , '' he explains . `` I went to the start line in the knowledge I was up against the finest marathon-running nation on the planet , so knew I was on a bit of a hiding to nothing . `` I daubed myself down with a wet wipe , much to the disappointment of my fellow passengers on the five-hour flight from Nairobi to Abu Dhabi . `` I had six hours on the ground there and just tried to get as much water as I could and some food inside me and stretch my legs . I took off from there at 2:30 a.m. and landed in Dublin at 6:45 a.m. `` I got changed at the airport , met friends and family at the start line and I managed to get around the Dublin marathon in three hours and 38 minutes on slightly weary , but thankfully forgiving , legs . '' So with just New York left to tick off on this testing trip , what is next for this Running Man ? `` Sleep and beer , '' he replies . `` In London . ''
British man is running six marathons on six continents in less than 30 days . Adam Chataway is raising funds to build four classrooms in Ethiopian town . The final leg of Londoner 's challenge is Sunday 's New York City Marathon . Organizers of the race say it will go ahead despite Hurricane Sandy .