OKEHAMPTON was home to a 'Man in a Shack' last week, as 50-year-old accountant Dave Hall caught some much-needed rest after his fourth marathon in an epic 40 day challenge. This summer, Mr Hall is running 40 marathons back-to-back from John O'Groats to Land's End, sleeping each night in a shack that should be in a slum in Sierra Leone. On September 22, Dave ran through Plympton and stayed the night in the shack when he arrived in Okehampton. Mr Hall has taken on the extreme endurance challenge to raise funds for the new charity Home Leone. The aim is to raise enough money to build 40 new homes in Sierra Leone and change the lives of 40 families who currently live in abject poverty in the Freetown slums. Dave began his challenge at John O'Groats on August 18 and crossed the finish line at Land's End on September 26. A replica of a slum-town shack is being driven along the route for Dave to sleep in and it pitched up at Okehampton Baptist Church. Dave said: 'The support from the people and passers-by when leaving Plympton and arriving in Okehampton was incredible and I'd like to thank those who ran alongside to show their support. 'The challenge is tough but the messages of support and encouraging crowds are keeping me going. It's going to get more difficult as the days go on but my visit to Sierra Leone inspired me to do something positive. 'With the help of the team at Home Leone, we've developed this challenge to help raise awareness of the families suffering extreme poverty and more importantly raise much needed funds for the cause of what is happening in the country.' Having taken up running in 1999, Dave has since completed more than 130 marathons, including six ultra-marathons, and has successfully completed the London marathon 11 times. Following a visit to Sierra Leone in June, Dave was moved to use his passion for running to do something to try to relieve the poverty that he witnessed while visiting the villages. Dave's progress can be followed here http://www.maninashack.com">www.maninashack.com and donations can be made at https://mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/davehall">https://mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/davehall