Runner Pat Farmer to run length of India

Six pairs of shoes. A hundred and eighty pairs of socks. More than four and a half million steps.

Barely four years after completing a 21,000 kilometre run from the North Pole to South Pole, ultra-marathon runner Pat Farmer is set to take his lung-busting talents to the Indian subcontinent.

Mr Farmer, 53, will run 4600km from the bottom of India to the very top in Kashmir, raising money for girls' education in the country.

He sets off from the coastal town of Kanyakumari on January 26, the Indian national Republic Day, and hopes to arrive at the Srinagar finish line within 60 days.

"The first 10km for me are as hard as they are for any runner out there," he said.

"I have to find my rhythm, calm my mind, focus on my breathing and shut down that voice in my head that asks what the bloody hell am I doing here."

Mr Farmer, who was a federal MP for nine years, previously completed ultra-marathons in the Middle East, Vietnam and around Australia.

Donations can be made via his website, patfarmer.com.