Something remarkable happened on Sunday – Ben Rogers completed his 365th marathon in the space of 365 days!

Yes, you are reading that right, 365 marathons in 365 days.

As the world and his wife were watching the coverage of tens of thousands of people running the London Marathon, Ben was quietly going about running his 365th in the space of a year.

Everyone that runs the London Marathon should rightly receive every plaudit going as running a marathon is no mean feat, but imagine having to run one every day for a whole year!

For Ben, Sunday was just another day, just another marathon. Well almost…

When I last blogged about Ben a few weeks back, he was closing in on this mammoth achievement, as he raised funds and awareness for both Macmillan and Pilgrims Hospice after his father in law, Doug, passed away a few year ago.

Setting himself the herculean task of trudging 26.2 miles every day for a year, Ben could be said to be a couple of sandwiches short of a picnic, but that’s what’s endearing about the forty something from East Malling near Maidstone.

There’s no ego with Ben and this whole challenge has been about inspiring others whilst running for the two great charities.

Our weekend with Ben coming to support me at my 100th parkrun at Great Lines parkrun in Gillingham. Having already run more miles than I’d care to mention before the rest of us started, the 5km run was literally just another run in the park for Ben.

What impressed me most though, was the amount of time he took to chat to everyone, either at the start, on the way round, or at the finish.

Helping my eight year old, Ellie, complete her 17th full parkrun was another highlight. He really is an incredible role model.

Fast forward twenty four hours and a merry band of us met at the Malta Inn at Maidstone ready for the final day.

I was pleased I could be there and in a way I’m glad Ben got to finish his epic challenge around Maidstone having started the 365 marathons in London on 24th April 2016.

Running London again could have easily seen Ben lost in the crowds and his achievements overshadowed, but by ending his challange near home meant friends and family were there to either wave him off or take part.

As we left The Malta Inn at just after 9am, having taken more selfies than is acceptable for most adults, we were soon working our way down the towpath towards Maidstone, taking in the same route as the parkrun does over there, dodging the new chicanes the Council have seen fit to install, making running and cycling that bit harder.

Under cloud filled skies, Ben was like to Pied Piper leading us towards Maidstone, joined by the likes of good friend, Brendon Davey (and Bear the dog), with some participants opting for a gentle 5km run.

It was at Maidstone that I started to enter virgin territory and I must confess, having lived in Kent for over forty years, that I’d never followed the river beyond the town centre.

If you’ve never taken the river path past the Archbishop’s Palace, I’d urge you to give it a go as it’s incredibly spectacular.

What looked like a decoy heron in fact moved and the sights and sounds as you head out of town are simply breathtaking.

Winding our way along the river’s edge as we headed towards Tonbridge is a memory that will live with me forever as I chatted with Ben, Lee Allen and complete strangers.

That’s what I love about running so much. You can be running with complete strangers and within minutes they are friends.

Ben is a social butterfly and chats with everyone, making it easier for people to interact.

Joined by Ben’s wife Linda and two daughters, who followed on their bikes, I must say we raised a smile when we came to some speed bumps on the footpath. Speed bumps? How fast do they seriously think we go?

By the time we’d reached about mile five the sun had broken cover and it was really beginning to heat up, making it a little harder to lift the bikes over various hazards along the route.

Passing through Teston and then onto Yalding really is an incredible place to run. The Kent countryside really is second to none when it comes to scenery.

After the briefest of stops at about mile ten in Yalding to pick up some more runners, we were soon our way to the halfway point and this is where we had the biggest incident of the run.

Lee, scouting for somewhere convenient for a “comfort break”, failed to notice an iron spike sticking up out of the path, and before he knew it was doing a nice dive towards the ground.

Thankfully his knee and face prevented too much damage from being caused. Dusting himself off and checking which bits were bleeding the most, Lee was soon in the bushes taking care of business.

This is where most runners come into their own. First thoughts when you go down are A, Did anyone see me? B, How soon did I stop my Garmin? C, How much further have I got to run? and D, Do I need first aid?

It’s generally in that order. We’re a hardy bunch, generally with the odd screw loose.

Having to make up ground on those that were now ahead of us, this is where Lee and I along with two ladies lost the group, getting to a slightly different halfway point somewhere near the Hop Farm.

That’s the beauty of running. You can get completely lost and find the most stunning places. They’re places you’d never see driving.

After reaching 13.1 miles, the four of us decided to turn for home, heading back the way we came, making sure we didn’t come a cropper on the trip hazard that jumped up and bit Lee earlier.

Reaching Yalding again, we stopped once more to collect a few more runners, filled our water bottles, had a jelly baby, all whilst Lee cleaned up his war wounds.

With no fuss, we were soon on our way back for the final ten miles. This is where stopping hurts. I’d advise anyone running a marathon – don’t stop!

Getting going again is hard – very hard. I think the older you get, the harder it gets. I’m not saying I needed WD40, but I could soon be needing some Cod Liver Oil.

This is the part where I found out also that I’d probably not had enough to eat in the morning as all I could think about was food. Your mind wanders when you run. It gives you time to think, but maybe too much time.

I was thinking of every conceivable thing I could scoff, so reaching about mile 19 to be met with some lovely cookies made by Ben’s daughter Megan was a huge relief.

This is where I feel I should confess to having eaten four. If I was less polite, I’d have probably eaten more than that.

With fuel on board and the end in sight (not literally), we were back up and running. Following the River Medway back was the way we’d come, but it all looked so different going the other way.

That might have something to do with the fact it seemed an awful lot longer going back than heading out.

I must confess the last four miles or so nearly did for Lee and I. Having run the Brighton Marathon only two weeks previously, it was obvious we’d still not fully recovered and this is where I really must say I respect Ben even more.

To get up and run a marathon day after day when you’re tired must take some serious mental strength, let alone physical ability.

I’m sure we got quicker in the final four kilometres from the town back to The Malta Inn. They probably only took about twenty minutes, but it felt like a lifetime.

I’ve never been happier to see a pub in all my life and it was great to follow Ben into the finish, cheered on by a large group of friends and family that were waiting (along with some complete strangers having a quiet drink that were blissfully unaware what was going on).

After lots of photos and a teary speech from Ben (rightly so), we left the man of the moment to spend time with said friends and family enjoying something cool and alcoholic.

Never before has someone deserved a pint more than Ben. He’d finished his epic challenge of running 9,563 miles. 365 marathons in 365 days.

It still seems inplausable, but he’d done it.

I’m honoured to say I was there for the first step in London and for the last in Maidstone. What’s happened in between is down to one man – Ben Rogers.

He will always be a good friend, but he will serve to inspire tens of thousands of others.

Even the great Dame Kelly Holmes had this to say of Ben on Sunday evening:

“Well done 365 Marathon Man Awesome! Can’t believe how many of you are pushing the physical boundaries & inspiring others.”

That really sums Ben up. He really has pushed boundaries.

It comes on the same day that thousands of others have completed the London Marathon.

I’d like to congratulate each and every one of them and having completed it myself in 2016, I know how proud they’ll all be feeling today.

Special mention must go to a few people I know that ran.

Paul Daniels ran in memory of his son Ben who tragically died of an undiagnosed heart defect in his teens, raising thouands of pounds and awareness for Cardiac Risk in the Young.

Kyle Waters ran his first ever marathon alongside partner Ben Smith (who completed 401 marathons in 401 days last year).

Hayley Woolward again ran her first marathon, for children with cancer uk.

Ian Walker, was guide runner for Paul Smith, who is visually impaired.

Ian’s wife Linda ran for Heads Together, another fantastic charity.

Robin Harrison was running for the MUFC (Manchester United Football Club) Foundation.

Both Karl Chamberlain and Sarah Lewry completed their marathons for Whizz Kids.

Kent FA Chief Executive, Paul Dolan, was running for Demelza Hospice Care for Children.

Finally, to the many runners from my running club, the Rebel Runners. There’s far too many to mention.

Each and everyone should be chuffed to bits with what they’ve achieved. They’re all incredible people, and if you see them, buy them a drink, but more importantly, think what’s possible. If they can do it, why can’t you?

I’ll end this blog with a special mention about Ben Rogers. This is the guy that’s not seen anywhere near the level of recognition that he truly deserves. Most of you would easily walk past him in the street and not know who he is, but he’s unlike any other super hero, he doesn’t wear a cape. Not yet anyway….