![\"Eamonn](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/RGZZOKQJUNFUDPXXL5CX3UY7WY.jpg\")
Eamonn Keaveney have stood up to the challenge well. <\/p>\nEamonn Keaveney\u2019s feet are in \u201csurprisingly good\u201d shape.<\/p>\n
He is tackling an epic hike from Istanbul, Turkey, to his hometown Claremorris, Co Mayo, barefoot.<\/p>\n
On Monday, the 33-year-old made it back to Ireland for the \u201chome stretch\u201d of his journey in an attempt to break a Guinness world record. He hopes to reach Mayo in February. <\/p>\n
\u201c[People] are expecting to see these horribly mangled feet but the skin on the bottom of the foot toughens up over time,\u201d he says, walking an average of 25km per day.<\/p>\n
He says thorns have been one of the biggest hardships on his feet and for that reason he tends to avoid walking on grass when possible. He has also managed to stay \u201cfairly clear\u201d of blisters.<\/p>\n
His feet are more sensitive in cold and wet conditions. Certain terrain slows him down, such as gravel, which he describes as \u201ceasily the worst possible thing\u201d to walk on.<\/p>\n
Eamonn Keaveney have stood up to the challenge well. <\/p>\n
He first flew to Istanbul in February 2025 and began his world record attempt of the longest barefoot walk, on March 4th.<\/p>\n
He previously held this title in 2016<\/a>, after walking around Ireland, a distance of more than 2,000km. The record was most recently held by Polish man Pawel Durakiewicz for completing a distance of 3,410km barefoot. <\/p>\n After 185 days of walking, Keaveney officially broke the world record for the longest barefoot walk on September 4th at the border of Hungary and Austria but he is aiming to reach Claremorris, a distance of more than 6,000km.<\/p>\n Walking barefoot appealed to him while at university after he heard of the reported health benefits. <\/p>\n After walking around Ireland, he set his sights on walking across Europe. He spent a year preparing for it by walking barefoot everywhere he went outside of work, including the grocery shop, which resulted in him being told off by a security guard.<\/p>\n Keaveney has taken a career break from his job as a civil servant in his attempt to break the record.<\/p>\n He initially thought he would complete it in November but now hopes he will arrive in Claremorris in February. The journey took longer than expected for several reasons such as extreme conditions of snow, minus temperatures, heatwaves and thunderstorms. <\/p>\n In Turkey he was bitten by a dog. He says the bite itself wasn\u2019t bad but the \u201cordeal\u201d of getting rabies vaccines delayed him by about a week.<\/p>\n![\"Eamonn](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/N2L2IZCKKJCGFIUOPJCHMSIZRE.jpg\")
Eamonn Keaveney on his barefoot trek across Europe in an attempt to set a new world record. Photograph: Eamonn Keaveney <\/p>\n![\"Eamonn](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/VE6BC3ODRRGT7I2DXKBLSYEIWE.jpg\")
Eamonn Keaveney in Vienna <\/p>\n