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Running with… 401 Marathon Man

February 14, 2017June 5, 2017Leave a comment

If you haven’t heard about Ben Smith or his incredible achievement, prepare to be amazed. On the 1st of September 2015, Ben went out and ran a marathon. This was to be the first of the 401 marathons Ben would run, in 401 days. For the many runners reading this imagine running one marathon and … Continue reading Running with… 401 Marathon Man

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My Story • I’ve got a few new followers since I announced my 20 marathons in 20 days challenge so thought I’d give a little backstory about myself and how I got here. • The first photo is me in 2014. 20 stone, struggling with where I stood in the world and with little desire to do anything physically active. • The next photo is from my first ever marathon at London in 2016. A lot had changed between those two photos. I had lost my granny, one of the most inspiring people I will ever meet, and my partner who I thought I would spend my life with wrecked it instead. In those voids left behind depression swallowed me whole. • But in this despair I found running because I needed something to save me. I lost 6 stone, gained a whole new armour against mental battles and found a community I now love dearly. • The third photo was my last biggest challenge; Marathon des Sables last year. Between the three years of my first London and MdS I ran 20 marathons, 20 half marathons and a few ultras. Through those miles I found my way to my fiancée, starting the best adventure I’ve ever been on. • I didn’t know where my story was going to lead when I started and never would have fathomed I’d be attempting 20 marathons in 20 days but if you’re seeing yourself in the first photo, just start trying. You have no idea where it might take you... • • #marathondessables #transformationtuesday #igrunners #weightlossjourney #runnersofinstagram #instarunners #runnersofinsta #marathon #londonmarathon #mds #marathondessables #weightlossmotivation #runhappyteam #brooksrunhappyteam #brooksrunninguk #mentalhealthmatters #runningismytherapy #runningcommunity #ukrunchat #runtogether #runtoinspire

AD | Run2Paris • Ridiculously excited to finally be able to announce that come May myself and this amazing team will be RUNNING FROM LONDON TO PARIS!!! • Starting at Wimbledon Tennis Club and finishing under the Eiffel Tower we each run about a half marathon every day for four days as a relay, camping each night and experiencing all the sights and edible delights along the way. • I fell in love with the idea of this race as soon as I heard about it and after meeting up with Run2Events back in December they very kindly offered me a team spot and told me to go out and find some inspiring and amazing teammates to come along for the journey and I’m so excited with the crew I’ve got together. • We’ve got an expert nutritionist in @therunnerbeans, a coach and rehab therapist should anything go wrong with @kineticrev, an ultramarathon queen for the hilly bits in @jodiegauld and @jersey_girl08 for strength and emotional support. Not really sure what I bring to the table besides a bad sense of humour and an ability to sniff out a good coffee spot! • Honestly can’t wait to see how this adventure unfolds and to spend sometime with these incredible people. • I’ll be posting more details about the race as it gets nearer but if you want to read about and maybe organise your own team head over to run2paris.com or pop me a question! • #gifted As I said race entry for the team incredibly kindly gifted by Race2Events • • #run2paris #multidayrunner #igrunners #ukrunchat #runnersofinstagram #ukrunners #runhappy #runningmotivation #running #runchat #runningblogger #runningcommunity #runtogether #runtoinspire #runners_of_insta #instarunners #nationalrunningshow #mondaymotivation

Meet Your Heroes • Back in 2014, when I was still 20 stone and I had no desire to go running at all I read Dean Karnazes’ book 50/50 documenting his challenge of running a marathon in each of the 50 states of America in 50 consecutive days. • Roll on five years, a complete change in my life and 23 marathons later his heroic achievement was the inspiration for creating my 20 marathons in 20 days challenge; @2gether2020. • Following the launch of my challenge on Thursday it’s seemed incredibly fitting to grab a few minutes with Dean during the Running Show and thank/blame him for the experience I’ll be going through come July. • I am still in complete shock at the reaction following the launch our challenge I cannot thank all you lovely people who have commented on here, sent me messages or grabbed me at the Running Show this weekend. • Third year of being an ambassador for the @nationalrunningshow and it just seems to be getting bigger and better! • • #runningshow #nationalrunningshow #ukrunchat #deankarnazes #ultramarathon #igrunners #runnersofinstagram #runstagram #meetyourheroes #runhappy #runchat #runnerscommunity #runningmotivation #runningcommunity #mindcharity

2gether • So this is my challenge for 2020: 20 Marathons, 20 Days, 20 Towns and Cities all over the UK all in aid of the mental health charity Mind. • Come July 14th my best friend from school, Gaz aka @runmanandthepup, and I will run 20 marathons in 20 consecutive days. Starting in Belfast we then fly over the Irish Sea to Scotland and wind our way through England and Wales before finishing August 2nd in London. And we want you to join in! • Almost all the routes will be self-organised with many featuring multiple loops so you don’t need to run the whole marathon to join in. If you’ve just run your first Parkrun why not come and run 10km with us? They’ll be a good looking medal in it for you and you’ll have us cheering you on. • We chose @mindcharity to fundraise for because our lives have been affected by mental health issues either first hand or through those we love. When we decided to run this challenge there was no other charity we considered but Mind. Running is a huge part of boosting our mental health and we hope during this challenge we can highlight the benefits running can have in your life. • It is going to be the most mentally and physically demanding challenge we will have ever undertaken so we going to need help. We will need friendly faces to pick us up when we are struggling and to share some of the 526 miles with so please come along if you live near any of the places listed on the route. If you have any ideas of where we should be running in these towns and cities please let us know in the comment section below or message us. • You can also take part virtually and get your hands on one of our medals by running 26.2 miles over the 20 days. More info on that coming soon. • We are so excited to have @brooksrunninguk powering and empowering us throughout the challenge with their kit and support. Their motto; Run Happy, perfectly embodies what this challenge is all about. More info on the other brands who will be supporting us will be released as we get nearer to the start line in Belfast. • It is going to be one hell of an adventure and we cannot wait to get started; to get out running and fundraising with all of you.

Fear. • So tomorrow I am launching my charity challenge @2gether2020 and honestly I have been a bubbling cauldron of excitement and nerves for the past six months as the plans for this challenge have come together. • It will be by far the hardest and most mentally and physically demanding challenge I will probably ever undertake. • It is so far out of my comfort zone and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t fearful of it but I will be running it along side my best mate @runmanandthepup who has been my emotional support human for over 15 years and for the amazing charity @mindcharity. • I may be terrified but it is going to be one hell of an adventure and you beautiful lot will have to come along for the ride... • • #runnersofinstagram #instarunners #ukrunning #ukrunchat #runningmotivation #runhappyteam #runhappy #mindcharity #ukrunners #instarun #runstagram #charityrunner

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Running With..

A set of interviews with runners that inspire, excite and encapsulate the great sport we lace up our shoes for.

Marathon des Sables

In 2019 I took part in the 'Toughest Footrace on the Planet'; The Marathon des Sables. You can read about my journey in the desert here

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