The most remarkable thing happened this week as Ben Smith completed 401 marathons in 401 days and I was there as he crossed the finish line.
To say Ben is one of the most inspirational people I know would be an understatement and not only has he inspired me, but he’s inspired thousands of others.
For those of you that haven’t heard of Ben and his back story, it’s a remarkable journey that he’s been on. Bullied from the age of ten, Ben tried to take his own life at eighteen after years of torment.
It wasn’t until he was thirty that he ever had the courage to come out as being gay. The year before he suffered from a minor stroke and this proved to be a major catalyst for change in his life.
Weighing in at around eighteen stone and encouraged by a friend to join their local running club, Ben found going for a run was the perfect tonic to the stress going on in his life.
Fast forward a year or two and Ben met his partner Kyle. By that point, the planning for The 401 Challenge was well underway. Trying to persuade a new partner to be tolerant of what’s about to happen when you’re about to embark on running over 10,500 miles in little over a year must be a challenge in itself, but Kyle stood behind Ben from day one.
Not only did he stand behind him, but he gave up his PHD and job to become part of the close knit support crew. I say close knit and they are more than that. There are some incredibly supportive people in the background that don’t seek or gain much fame for the hard work they put in and all on a voluntary basis.
From Ben’s dad Pete planning all the running routes and sorting massages, to Tolu and Lucy organising all the fantastic media coverage Ben has had, to Kyle’s mum and dad, Pat and Colin, sorting all the merchandising and finally to Ben’s mum Beverley, there are some amazing people doing amazing things.
Beverley’s involvement has had to be more hands off rather than hands on in recent months as she’s endured her own challenges, spending more time in hospital than she’d have liked, but her unwavering support of Ben is breathtaking.
I have known Ben for little under a year and our first meeting is something that will live with me forever. Having run my first ever marathon at Brighton in April 2015, I came across Ben on Facebook later that same year and decided I’d go and run a few miles with him on day 58 of the challenge in Maidstone.
Another 24.2 miles later and I’d run my second ever marathon. He’s that inspirational….
That day was something special and without Ben’s support, I’d have never got round the gruelling Kent roads (that and the fry up at mile 14 and the pint at mile 20).
From that day on, I knew I would have a lifelong friend in Ben. Later that year my daughter and I decided to surprise Ben with a quick visit as he ran in Nottingham. The chance for my daughter to lead the runners off that day is an image indelibly marked in my mind. That sums up everything about The 401 Challenge.
My next meeting with Ben would come the day before the Brighton Marathon earlier this year as we ran with him in Sevenoaks. This was where friends Ben Rogers (who I also met in Maidstone) and Lee Allen got the chance to spend time running with Ben and meeting loads more fantastic Kent runners.
The very next day our paths crossed again briefly at The Brighton Marathon and again my daughter was inspired. She had her own race that day in Chislehurst, but she was more excited about seeing one of her heros than her own achievements.
Another friend, Brendon Davey, was so inspired by meeting Ben that he smashed an incredible time at his first ever marathon.
Two weeks later and it was my turn to run with Ben (although we never caught up with each other on the day) at The London Marathon. Just 24 hours later and Ben (and Kyle) came to stay with us after running in Bromley. Again, another chance for my daughter Ellie to spend time with someone she regards as more important than Peppa Pig!
The following morning saw Ben do an assembly in Ellie’s school and to see 420 open mouthed kids, listening about the challenge was a sight to be seen. The bling of a London Marathon medal might have helped too!
This is where Ben comes into his own. I’m not a religious man, but he’s been compared to Jesus, in more ways than one. When Ben talks, people listen.
The next few months saw us all following Ben’s journey on Facebook as he moved up the country into Scotland, facing more battles with broken vertebrae just one of the many issues that plagued him.
Getting back on track and catching up the miles sums Ben up. He has that inner grit and determination in abundance.
Watching Ben go through the pain barrier, I always knew I wanted to be there in Bristol on Wednesday October 5th and it didn’t take long to persuade four other friends to be there with me.
The months of training varied for us all, Ben Rogers undertaking a marathon a day himself as he embarks on his own challenge of running 26.2 miles a day for a whole year, going from London to London.
For the other three, Lee Allen and wife Nicola, along with friend Catherine Hayward, it was to be their first ever marathon. Their training runs were all geared up to being ready for a marathon, Lee taking to it like a duck to water, whilst the ladies battled with injuries, but showed the necessary willpower to get as many miles in their legs as possible.
Doing our runs with Rebel Runners (our local running group) helped a lot and the whole bunch have been so welcoming to us all.
I never really had any doubts that they’d be there with me on the start line and I’m so pleased that they were.
Our journey to marathon 401 really started in earnest months before the day itself, but the actual trip to Bristol was undertaken the day before, getting to our bed and breakfast in plenty of time to frequent two of the local pubs, consuming plenty of calories in both liquid and solid form!
A few late night games of pool (for which Ben and I won’t ever remember the scores from) and it was decided bed was the best option. Sleeping wasn’t easy for any of us that night. I myself suffered with severe stomach cramps – not nerves, but the after effects of the double burger, chips, jam roly poly and a good few ciders.
The other guys all seemed to have a broken night’s sleep as the nerves kicked in, although Ben’s snoring proved he wasn’t too concerned about what lay ahead.
A hearty full English breakfast, washed down with four cups of tea for me, was just the trick to fuel us all for the day, although Nicola asking for salad cream to go on her baked beans raised a few eyebrows!
Watching Ben on BBC Breakfast and GMB only served to inspire us all as he looked completely undaunted by what was just another marathon for him.
Hearing him chatting to Chris Evans in the car on the way into Bristol only ratcheted up the tension another notch.
We arrived in Millenium Square with plenty of time before our scheduled 10am start and it was great to see the press attention Ben was already attracting. The crowds had already begun to swell and the sight of around 400 runners filled my heart with joy.
What amazed me, having a brief chat with Ben, was how calm he was. Kyle on the other hand looked the one with the world on his shoulders!
Although Ben has been the one pounding the streets, Kyle has been there every step of the way, in body and spirit.
It was so nice to meet both sets of parents before we set off, with both Colin and Pat (Kyle’s mum and dad) joining us for the marathon. For Pat it was to be her first marathon too and she looked totally relaxed about what lay ahead.
After copious amounts of photographs (I’m known to take the odd picture and especially a few selfies), we were assembled and ready for the off.
The sight of around 400 people dashing out of Bristol must have been something to behold, especially to those that didn’t have a clue what was going on and were just going about their daily business.
We soon lost sight of Ben (Smith) and Ben (Rogers) soon disappeared into the distance, whilst Lee, Nicola, Catherine and I attempted to run at a pace that suited us, whilst I somehow ended up doing an interview with BBC Radio Bristol, literally on the run.
It didn’t take long to leave the streets of Bristol behind us, coming away from the comforts of pavements and the reassurance of knowing we weren’t far from a good toilet, dropping onto the towpath alongside the river and past the Clifton suspension bridge.
This is where the marathon started to see the field really fan out. A quick comfort break for Lee and I in the bushes helped lighten the load, whilst the girls plodded on regardless. Those next however many miles along the river were idyllic, bordering on serene.
I feel these were the miles where we all began to bond as a group, encouraging one another and sharing stories to take our minds off what lay ahead.
Ben by this point was clearly getting closer to the halfway point, whilst we had to rely on instinct, asking strangers and Colin’s map for finding the way.
There’s nothing worse than doing more miles than necessary when running a marathon!
Coming into Portishead was a moment I won’t forget and Catherine seemed to go up a gear as we got closer to the pub – I’m not sure why!
That break was a welcome distraction for us all and to come in and see Ben with the news that he had hit his £250,000 target was inspiration for the next few hours.
After a good many pints of alcohol were consumed by the group, Ben had done numerous interviews with the media live into the lunchtime news programmes and everyone had been to the toilet once again, we were lined up for the next 13 odd miles.
It was at this point that Lee, Ben Rogers and I resolved to try and stick with Ben right through to the end, no matter what pace we were to run at.
I soon regretted this decision as we seemed to find the only steep hills in the area, climbing them at an alarming rate. To say I was puffed would be an understatement. I’m certainly not as lean as the other guys and I’m built for comfort rather than speed!
Taking the coastal path and looking out to the Severn Bridge, it felt like we had already run to Wales, but we were soon headed back towards Bristol. I began to flag and it didn’t take too long for me to lose sight of the two Bens and Lee.
Seeing BBC presenter Jon Kay in a country lane restored my belief that I was headed in the right direction and it was even more encouraging to know I’d somehow got ahead of Ben (Smith), who had ducked into a pub to use the toilet.
That long run along the river back towards Bristol seemed to go on forever, well it did for me anyway, but it was nice to know I wasn’t alone and I got chatting to some great people as I meandered along.
I find that’s what has been so special about The 401 Challenge. It’s not all about Ben and he won’t mind admitting that. It’s about the every day people that are going that extra mile to do their bit.
If it wasn’t for ordinary people like me, the challenge probably wouldn’t have had the life it’s had and that’s what has given the whole 401 days something magical.
Ben has been the catalyst to inspire so many people, people that might not have necessarily considered running a full or part of a marathon before. He’s had over 9,000 people join him over the last year or so, but he’s touched so many more lives through his posts on social media.
It’s at this point I feel the need to share something very personal. This past year has been incredibly tough for me with one thing or another and in the past few weeks we lost my cousin Luke.
He’d been battling with mental health issues for some months and it culminated in him taking his own life, coming as a massive shock to many of us.
That was a battle Ben faced some years ago, but ultimately won. Unfortunately for Luke, it was a battle too far and our lives have been shattered with his passing.
So the whole 401 Challenge has taken on so much more relevance to me and if in some way, I can continue to inspire other people to run through the work I do with Kent Sports Trust, I will take some satisfaction that we can change some people’s lives through sport, even if we couldn’t help Luke.
I shared a very touching chat with Ben as we ran that 26.2 miles, talking about Luke and it was so reassuring to know someone had complete empathy with my feelings.
Back to the running, the majority of the runners convened at about mile 24 to run those last few miles back into the centre of Bristol with Ben taking the lead.
This is where the sense of euphoria began to grow amongst us all and the general public came to life. People hanging out of windows roaring their support, or the honking of horns from motorists served to inspire us all, but mostly distracted us from the pain shooting through our weary bodies.
At no point did Ben show any signs of slowing, because of course to him, this was like any other day, just another marathon.
With a mile to go we paused to meet thirty local school children that ran alongside us into the heart of Bristol, bringing more energy to a pack of people that now had the end in sight.
Ben trotted through those final few hundreds of metres like a man on a mission, with the goal awaiting him. I’m proud to say I was shoulder to shoulder with him as I didn’t want to miss the moment he crossed the finish line and what a moment it turned out to be.
Turning the final corner back into Millenium Square, there was a roar I will never forget. Beyond the finishing line there were hundreds of people with all the local and national media waiting for the moment Ben ended his journey.
I made sure I recorded these last few strides as I will want to relive that moment again and again.
No sooner had we crossed the finish line and we were mobbed. TV cameramen and photographers were soon around us as Ben was engulfed. It was so touching to be there when Kyle came into the crowd for that all important hug.
What followed is almost a blur as Ben toasted the crowd, carried out his interviews and most importantly paid tribute to the fantastic support crew that had been with him all the way.
To see the tears in his mum and dad’s eyes is another memory that will live with me forever. Their love for Ben is totally unconditional and the sense of pride that day can’t be measured.
For me though, the day was far from over and it was important to see first Pat and Colin cross the line, swiftly followed by Catherine and not long later by Nicola.
Completion times are irrelevant on days like these.
I have no idea how long even I ran for on the day and I don’t care. All that matters is we all completed the 26.2 miles and there were so many more people that were inspired by us all.
The lasting legacy of Ben’s 401 marathons will always be how many more people that have been inspired to take up running, to join their local parkrun on a Saturday morning, to sign up with their local running club or just to get out there and do some miles, either alone or with friends.
That’s the beauty of running. Pretty much everyone can do it, young or old and the sense of achievement is incredible.
If you’d have told me a few years ago that I’d be a multiple marathon runner, I’d have laughed, but I am.
I’m so inspired that on Saturday I will be joining up with dozens of people in Sevenoaks as they do their virtual marathon to show their support to Ben. Some will do 5km, some 10km, some a half marathon and many will do the full 26.2 miles.
What matters though is they will be there for Ben and The 401 Challenge.
One thing I take away from my involvement with The 401 Challenge is that we arrive as strangers, but leave as friends.
If you want to be part of Saturday’s event in Sevenoaks, check out this link:
http://www.weald10k.co.uk/401vc
From January 1st, Lee and I will be undertaking our own challenge, running a minimum of 5km a day for the whole year, including Christmas Day.
Anyone is welcome to join us and I’ll soon be announcing how anyone can be involved. In the meantime, if anyone wants to support us, please visit our Just Giving pages:
https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Steve-Wolfe2
https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/lee-allen13
Most importantly, Ben’s page for The 401 Challenge is still open and you can show your support to two fantastic charities, Stonewall and Kidscape by making a donation here: