Next year will see the Championship's inaugural running held at Keswick and that's good news for Carver who is ranked number one in the UK for 24 hour races.

Unfortunately for Carver the qualification criteria has been set at 225km (139.8 miles) and his best of 221 km (137.7 miles) leaves him just short.

Seeking qualification, Carver will take part in October's 24-hour race at Tooting Bec in London but opportunities in Britain are few and far between with just two 24 hour races a year and three over 100km.

Around 40 such races take place over the continent but this means mass travel and spiralling expenses for Carver, only sponsored so far by Carl Walsh's The Divan Centre, on Eastgate, Leeds.

Carver desperately hopes to qualify for the championship but admits a lack of funding makes it incredibly tricky.

"My main expenses are three fold: travel and hotel expenses, race entry fees and sports drinks and nutrition," said Carver.

"Last year, for a 24-hour race in Hull I camped on the grass infield and for another in London I went down on the day of the race and came straight back home afterwards."

Carver is now desperately seeking sponsorship and is sure financial backing would boost his performance significantly to make it worth any interested company's while.

He added: "It seems obvious to me that I could do so much better racing after a decent night's sleep in a proper bed."

For further information Chris can be contacted at chris.carver@ btopenworld.com or on 01943 468109.