What inspired you to take on the challenge of running from Macclesfield to London and then completing the London Marathon?

It started with reading a book together as a family called The Night Bus Hero by Onjali Q Raúf. The book tackled the issue of homelessness, with one of the characters helping out at a soup kitchen. It made us all want to help, but my youngest daughter, aged 9 at the time, really wanted to go and volunteer at a soup kitchen. I went into Manchester and spoke to some street homeless people to find out where they got help, and that’s where I heard about Coffee4Craig. They are a small charity doing incredible work every single day of the year to support and feed street homeless people. The charity came about as a result of the tragic death of Craig, a street homeless person and brother of Risha. Risha and her husband Hendrix wanted to make a difference and so they set up the charity after his death 12 years ago.

I don’t get to volunteer at the charity as much as I would like, so had to think of another way to help. I liked the idea of using my ability to run. As a trail runner, I’m not really drawn to the big city marathons, but with the London marathon being such an iconic event, it seemed like the perfect event to gain both funds and awareness for the charity. Because I will often do 20+ mile runs, it didn’t seem right to expect sponsorship to do a single marathon. I thought I’d have a look at the possibility of running to London from home (Macclesfield) to London before the marathon. A route down the canal towpaths seemed to be pretty perfect. It also meant I got to do something that resembled the trail running I love so much.

I first came up with the idea in June 2023. As everyone knows, it’s extremely difficult to secure a London marathon place and we were unsuccessful in 2024. I entered the ballot for a 2025 place and was unsuccessful again. Despite large charities being offered hundreds of places, the small charities are often overlooked and it is very difficult for them to secure a place. In August 2024 Coffee4Craig were offered a place in the 2025 London marathon and they gave me the opportunity to take the challenge on.  

When the time came to actually fully commit to the place, in February 2025, I was struggling with a back injury I’d sustained from a fall on the trails in October. Because it seemed like there was still enough time to make a full recovery, I committed. It was a traumatic build-up to the challenge, my body kept letting me down and training never really got going. I just had to hope I could rely on the experience I’d built up with the running I’d done over the past 6 years and try to manage the situation as best as I could.

How has your connection to the outdoors and your day-to-day routine helped prepare you for a challenge like this?

Since starting trail running as I approached 40, I felt a huge impact from being out in nature, immersing yourself in the sights, smells and sounds on offer out there. Being out in the hills, moving through the landscape at a certain pace puts me in quite a meditative state. It allows you to clear your mind and iron out any issues of day to day life. I think being comfortable in your own company with no distractions is really important. For a long time I thought having a few beers or a bottle of wine was the best way to destress or unwind. For me, giving up alcohol and discovering the benefits of spending time in nature has been truly life changing. I’ve questioned the difference between obsession and dedication, but I don’t think I have a clear answer yet. I think it’s probably about finding a balance and taking the time for a bit of honest reflection every now and then. 

I’m quite intrigued by what we can achieve mentally and physically. I’m certainly inspired by ultra-endurance athletes and what they’re capable of. Rather than looking at these incredible athletes and thinking I could never do what they do, I want to find out how close I can get to doing what they do. Finding my own personal limits and enjoying the amazing sense of achievement you get from pushing hard is what motivates me.  

Can you tell us a bit more about 'Coffee4Craig' and why supporting them made this journey even more meaningful?

The team of 8 people at Coffee4Craig are all selfless individuals with a strong desire to help other people. The work they do is emotionally draining, it’s really hard to see other human beings suffer and feel limited with the help you can offer. To do that for a job and then go home to dealing with your own issues is nothing short of incredible. Every single day Risha and Hendrix see people who must remind them of Craig and the tragic situation he found himself in. That must be so hard. I just had to do something hard for a week to complete this challenge.

What was the toughest stretch of the run, and how did you stay grounded and motivated through it?

Tuesday (day 2) was quite difficult towards the end because I had to run down some dual carriageways without footpaths so was pushing the buggy along the verges of long grass with trucks whizzing by.

Thursday (day 4) was the most difficult day though. A friend came to join me first thing at the campsite and I spotted one of the wheels had a puncture just before we left. We were a bit late setting off because of that and then that new tube got a puncture after about 5 miles of running. Fortunately, we were near a boat yard and managed to get some help repairing both inner tubes. There was quite a lot of road sections on Thursday and a few big hills to get over. It was nice to have Phil with me for those 11 miles. Once I got back on the canal towpath, it was all hard going. The path was on such an angle that the buggy was always trying to tip into the water and it took a lot of effort to keep moving forwards.

The run in to Milton Keynes was also tough, it felt like I was never going to get to the end of the day. I did after 41.69 miles and it was such a relief to have been offered a hotel room for the night because I was struggling with a bit of a dodgy tummy. That was the only real point I questioned if I would be able to continue. After a good sleep, everything seemed to be back to normal and I was good to go for another day.

I don’t normally run with music, but I did have some with me on this challenge, just to keep the loneliness at bay. I had some lovely chats with people along the way, but there were big sections where I didn’t see anyone. The music helped at those times.

I think that when we’ve finished an activity, almost regardless of how long it is, we feel like we couldn’t have done any more than what we did. Psychologically, I think we prepare ourselves for what we’re intending to do and manage our effort accordingly. In my mind, the start line was in Macclesfield and the finish line was on The Mall in London. I didn’t allow myself to view the end of each day as a finish line, it was just a pause in activity.

How has this challenge shaped your relationship with the outdoors and your local community?

While I love the outdoors, I’m not a big fan of camping, so I knew that was going to be a bit of a challenge. I camped for 3 nights of the challenge and managed to pitch and pack away in dry weather, which was great. I think if I’d had to do that in pouring rain it would have been a very different experience. I generally wouldn’t choose to do a long run down the canal, I’m drawn to the hills and much prefer the variety in terrain to a flat towpath. These were just different elements of the challenge to push me outside my comfort zone. 

I met so many different people along the way and chatted about all sorts of things from life on a narrowboat to walking the Camino de Santiago. I spoke to a group of 17 cyclists riding from Huddersfield to Exeter and a guy taking part in the Thames Ring 250, a 250 mile race that he was leading in.

Lastly, what’s the next adventure?

I’m not sure about the next adventure. I have a good friend called Rob Hasler who has recently been diagnosed with MND and I would like to do something with him, both to try and raise some money and to do something fun together.

I go out for a trail run once a week with my eldest daughter (14) and 2 of her friends. I would love to be able to encourage more young people to get into trail running. It would also be nice to start something with homeless people, to give them an opportunity to run with a group because I really feel that it could make a positive difference to their lives. 

A few individual things that have been on my mind for a little while are the Anglesey coastal path, Wainwright’s coast to coast route and a running Everesting challenge.