Charles Costa, the 36-year-old British folk-pop singer formerly known as King Charles, set out to cross the U.S. on the Pacific Crest Trail from Canada to Mexico starting July 20. But it wasn’t until a couple weeks ago that the ultra-runner hit his biggest wall in the form of a Mojave Desert heat wave.
“It was over 100 Fahrenheit, and my body started operating much slower,” said Costa, who finished his 90 Marathons in 90 Days run Wednesday night in the border community of Campo, Calif. Costa said his run has raised about $190,000 so far for the British charity James’ Place, which provides men’s suicide prevention services, and the U.S. nonprofit JED Foundation, which supports suicidal teens.
“My crew was very worried about me because I was not in a good way, and we didn’t really know why,” Costa said. “There was this chance encounter with some of the firemen out there when we were coming off trail to find a campsite. They checked my vitals and told us about heatstroke, heat exhaustion and how dangerous it was.”
Costa took their advice and went to a hospital, where he received an intravenous drip to replenish his fluids.
“It was a lucky encounter,” said Costa, who added that he took the opportunity to talk with the firefighters about their lives, their struggles and the mental health challenges they face.
In 2021, Costa ran the length of the United Kingdom in 39 days, starting in John O’ Groats, Scotland, and finishing in Land’s End at the southern tip of England. The money he raised went to Regenerate, a youth charity in London. But even that didn’t prepare him for the punishing altitude and temperature swings of the Pacific Crest Trail.
“I wanted to see California. The PCT sounded like a heavenly place to be. I had some fanciful idea over a year ago, but it’s become all too real now,” he said last week, joined in the journey by a friend in charge of logistics as well as someone to manage social media. “I’m really excited that it’s actually been possible, all of the thousands of miles of running and climbing and the rest of it. Throughout my whole life I don’t think I’ve seen as many sunrises as I’ve seen in the last three months.”
This isn’t the life path Costa would have predicted years ago. Back in 2009, he won the International Songwriting Competition, a Eurovision-like contest based in Nashville. After judges Jeff Beck, Tom Waits, Loretta Lynn and Jerry Lee Lewis chose his song “Love Lust” for the grand prize in the rock category, a record contract with Universal followed.
Not bad for a middle-class kid from southwestern London who grew up playing cello in school and singing in a choir but who had no real plans to turn professional. Then Bob Dylan entered his life.
“When I heard ‘Blonde on Blonde’ on my 15th birthday, a friend gave me the album, and that was kind of an awakening into the world,” he said of Dylan’s seventh studio album. “This was a real ground-shifting moment for me when I realized what individuality was and the potential there was of becoming a fully fledged person.”
But on a fateful day in 2010, Costa had a skiing accident in Austria. Helicoptered off the mountain, he was put in an induced coma for five days. Brain trauma left him feeling like a different person while he was putting together his debut album, “LoveBlood.” It reached the top 40 in the U.K. in 2012, and two additional albums were released under the name King Charles. He opened for Mumford & Sons on tour, and in 2016, Marcus Mumford produced his album, “Gamble for a Rose.” Medication has kept him steady while running, he said, and songwriting has kept him sane.
“What’s wonderful about running and singing is they connect you to the outside world,” said Costa, who is releasing the single “Nothing at the Most” on Thursday with his new self-titled album to follow on Jan. 24. “Your heart being snapped into a new gear, a new rhythm, and your lungs heaving to keep up. It’s you using the body as an instrument, you can make melody, you can make sounds and you can move through space. It’s so primal and elemental that it creates a real sense of relief, which is why running and singing are my main passions.”
Coping with his injury through music and miles has had a profound effect beyond songwriting.
“It’s made me more of a sensitive person and more aware of the basic principles of life and mortality,” he says. “One of the main things I’ve learned is you can adapt. As long as you commit to something, you can change your stripes.”
Another thing he’s learned along his journeys? Patience.
“One moment can last an absolute lifetime, and you think the day will never end, thinking this is the worst thing ever,” he said. “And you get to the campsite and put your feet up and it’s just magnificent. As long as you keep putting one foot in front of the other, you’ll get there in the end.”