A MALVERN man will undertake an emotional 800-mile journey when he completes 30 marathons in as many days in memory of his dad who died from cancer.
Matt James is set to run a marathon every day throughout August to rake in hundreds of pounds for St Peter’s Hospice in Bristol, which cared for his dad before his death.
The 38-year-old will complete personal races in Malvern, Worcester, Gloucester, Cheltenham, Tewkesbury and Bristol – racking up a total of 786 miles in the process.
And Matt told The Observer the idea came to him while he was running on the Malvern Hills.
“I was on quite a long run one day over the hills and I was thinking about my dad and everything that had gone on,” he said.
“I thought it would be nice to do a challenge and I had seen people who had done seven marathons in seven days and I thought ‘could I do one every day for a month’?
“I am probably stubborn enough not to give up.
“I know I can train my legs and muscles to do it but a lot of it is the mental side, every day to get up and do this 30 days in a row.
“To do this on your own is also quite a big thing when you are going for five hours and with no one along the way to give you water and food, so I have to carry everything I need for the whole run.
“Mentally I think it will be more of a challenge than physically but I don’t see why I won’t be able to succeed.”
Matt is aiming to complete each marathon in the opening week in between four-and-a-half and five hours, with the following races up to five-and-a-half hours.
He has been running about 15 miles a day in and around Malvern in preparation and is looking to up the ante the closer it gets to August 1.
A fund-raising target of £2,500 has been set, with more than £600 raised so far, and Matt said he was hopeful he could surpass that total for the care the hospice gave his dad before he died in August 2012, aged 63.
“To find out someone that you love has a terminal disease and they do not have long to live is really difficult to come to terms with,” Matt added. “I can never imagine how hard it was on my dad to be told this.
“The staff and nurses from St Peter’s were on hand 24 hours a day if we needed help or just someone to talk to and they came out to the house as often as we needed them to.
“They took so much fear and worry away and gave my dad such a dignified last few months.
“Without the support of St Peter’s Hospice my dad would not have been able to spend his last few days at home with his family around him.”
Visit www.justgiving.com/runing30in30/ to donate to Matt’s cause.
