- Sir Jim Ratcliffe dashed to Wembley after running the London Marathon on Sunday
- Man United's co-owner is an avid runner and trains for an hour every day.
- Can Arsenal win the Trophy of Progress?The Gunners have recovered but there's a final hurdle – listen to It's All Kickoff! Podcast
Sir Jim Ratcliffe could have been forgiven for being exhausted on Sunday night.
The 71-year-old ran the London Marathon before dashing to Wembley in time for the second half of the FA Cup semi-final between Manchester United and Coventry.
Ratcliffe, who bought a 25% stake in United earlier this year, arrived at Wembley with Erik ten Hag's side after a 2-0 win thanks to goals from Scott McTominay and Harry Maguire.
Bruno Fernandes then added a third goal just before time expired, seemingly sealing his side's place in the FA Cup final.
However, Ellis Sims and Callum O'Hare scored twice in eight minutes, and Haji Wright converted a penalty in the 95th minute, sending the game into extra time.
Coventry looked to have won an extraordinary game when Victor Torp scored in the final moments of extra time, but VAR ruled that Wright had been ruled offside in the build-up.
In the end, United won 4-2 on penalties, sealing a repeat of last season's final against Manchester City next month.
If the London Marathon tested Ratcliffe's stamina, watching United's near-fatal capitulation at Wembley left his emotional reserve all but empty.
“There are some similarities [between football and running a marathon] I have to say, it takes a bit of guts,” he told BBC Sport after crossing the line on Sunday.
“Run a marathon after 30km” [18 miles] difficult. '
This challenge never deterred Ratcliffe from giving up. The INEOS boss, who is Britain's second richest person with an estimated fortune of £29.7bn, according to last year's Sunday Times Rich List, takes his fitness as seriously as his business.
An avid runner, Ratcliffe has completed more than 30 marathons in his life.
On Sunday, the Failsworth-born billionaire completed the London Marathon in 4 hours, 30 minutes and 52 seconds, a personal best of 42.2 miles.
“At my age, it's [time] “It's not bad,” he told the BBC after scoring at The Mall on Sunday.
Ratcliffe improved his time from 12 months ago by 1 minute and 55 seconds despite suffering a hamstring problem for the second year in a row.
“I trained for London last year and I had a problem with my hamstring,” he said on Geraint Thomas' podcast in February.
“I was out for five weeks so I didn't have a lot of time to retrain. I went to Africa and it was really warm so I went there.
'That was fine. The exact same thing happened this year.
“I only started training for London a week ago because I was out for five weeks with my hamstring. It's not that long. I have to go.”
Ratcliffe doesn't limit himself to traditional marathons.
In 2013, he competed in a week-long ultramarathon, the Marathon des Sables (Sand Marathon).
One of the toughest races on the planet, this seven-day event spans approximately 150 miles across the Sahara Desert (roughly six times the length of a typical marathon).
A year ago, the INEOS boss celebrated his 60th birthday by taking part in South Africa's Komraz Marathon. It is the world's oldest ultramarathon, running 55 miles between Durban and Pietermaritzburg in KwaZulu-Natal.
In 2016, at age 64, he completed an Ironman triathlon by swimming 3.4 miles, biking 112 miles, and completing the marathon in 14 hours and 44 minutes.
Ratcliffe told the Financial Times in 2014 that she prepares for the marathon by running almost every day.
His training routine includes a one-hour morning workout at the gym, followed by a 10km run before lunch.
The training regime may sound grueling, but for the man who trekked to the North Pole with his sons Sam and George in 2009, it's a relative walk in the park.
“You're pulling a big, heavy sled, and it's very cold and uncomfortable,” Ratcliffe told the Times about the expedition.
“Ice caps are always moving with currents and winds, and parts of them break off. Then you come across a mountain of ice and have to drag your sled over it.”
Two years later, Ratcliffe and his two sons ventured to the South Pole. He described this adventure as “one of his most harrowing experiences of his life.”
He told The Sun newspaper: “There's nothing that gets you going all day long.'' [on skis] Pulling an 80kg sled over ice waves.
“However, there is nothing quite as thrilling as walking 200km to reach Antarctica.
“Life is full of ups and downs. If you've experienced some lows beforehand, the highs will be better. You can't always feel high.”
Running the Comrades Marathon was one of three difficult challenges Ratcliffe took on to celebrate his 60th birthday.
The British billionaire learned to kitesurf and embarked on a 10,000km motorbike trip across Africa with 11 friends.
The group traveled from Cape Town to Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Botswana and Namibia before returning to Cape Town on a 100-day journey.
Three years later, Ratcliffe was back in the saddle and joined 17 other bikers to ride another 10,000km from Mount Kilimanjaro to Cape Town over a month.
Meanwhile, in 2018, he was part of a group that cycled 5,000 miles in one month along the spine of the Andes Mountains, which straddle Chile and Argentina.
Last year, Ratcliffe switched from a two-wheeler to a four-wheeler and was part of a group of 29 people who drove 5,000km across Mongolia to Beijing in 21 days.
The owner of Team INEOS, one of the most successful road cycling teams in history, Ratcliffe's resume is full of cycling adventures.
And in 2017, he embarked on a four-day, 300km bicycle trip from the top of KwaZulu-Natal's Sani Pass to the province's south coast.
“It's amazing what people can do and accomplish when they mentally turn off the brakes,” he told INEOS' Inch magazine in 2017.
Ratcliffe will need United to buy into that motto on and off the pitch if INEOS are to return the club to the top of English football.