Running a half marathon every week for a year

The fitness coach of Gloucestershire CCC has nearly completed his challenge of running a half marathon every week this year, and he is looking for runners to join him on his final run on New Year’s Eve.

Bob Smith’s runs are raising money for The Grand Appeal, the charity of Bristol Children’s Hospital whose staff saved his daughter’s life when she was only four weeks old. 

31-year-old Smith was joined by some of the Gloucestershire team on one of his most recent runs:

Fitness coach Bob Smith with @LCNorwell24 & Ollie Currill all set and ready for the start of his 51st half marathonhttps://t.co/rMyXmn2ClO pic.twitter.com/Z3TwuzZhYr

— Gloucestershire CCC (@Gloscricket) December 16, 2016

In November 2015, Smith’s four-week-old daughter Autumn was admitted from A&E to the paediatric intensive care unit at the Children’s Hospital.

Diagnosed with supraventricular tachycardia (SVT), her resting heart rate was 260bpm and she was not responding to treatment. Doctors administered a sedative and Autumn was put in an incubator to help her breathe.

Smith and his partner Katie waited an agonising 48 hours as their daughter’s body was slowly brought back to a balanced resting state.

“I can’t describe the gratitude and admiration that I have for every person that Katie and I came across that night in the Bristol Children’s Hospital,” Smith said.

“We were both overwhelmed by the care, compassion, generosity and expertise provided to our little daughter by every member of staff whom we came in contact with.”

Smith decided to thank the hospital by running a half marathon every week for a year for The Grand Appeal. He has already smashed his target of £8,000 but is hoping to keep the target going up as he nears the end of the challenge.

It has not been an easy journey, but Smith explains how he can put himself through such physical pain: “I’ve concluded that physical suffering is on a completely different continuum to emotional suffering, e.g. having a baby in hospital.

“Any amount of pain through physical exertion dissipates once the work has stopped. Emotional pain is far more enduring and difficult to deal with.”

When on a particularly difficult run, he uses this thought as a powerful motivator. “I weigh up in my mind whether I’d prefer to just get on with it or for Autumn to need another night in hospital. That’s enough to belittle the lack of motivation to go out.”

On Tuesday, Smith is running his penultimate half marathon in Yorkshire. His final half will be on Christmas Day, running from his in-laws’ house in Fife to the church where he and his wife Katie got married in 2011.

He is pushing himself one step further for the end of the year. “I wanted to finish the challenge with a bang and have a bit of a party,” he says. “So I’m doing a marathon to finish on New Year’s Eve running from Bristol Temple Meads to Bath Spa and then back along the cycle path to my house off Purdown.”

Smith is inviting people to join him on this final marathon for anything from a full marathon to a half, a 10km, 5km or 1km. He admits it will be a challenge, as he has never completed a full marathon before, although he has run two halfs in one day with Ben Smith for his 401st run in week 40 of his own challenge.

Smith has far surpassed his original target of £8,000, the estimated cost of Autumn’s treatment, and with GiftAid donations he has smashed the secondary target of £12,000, which is enough to buy a new ventilator that does not require sedation of the child.

“I’m so grateful to everyone that has dug into their pockets to sponsor me. It’s been really heart-warming to see the response on social media as well from people who feel compelled to come and run with me.

“I’ve rekindled old friendships and acquaintances and made new friends along the way.

“I just want to push it as high as I can to give as much as I can back to the hospital that did so much for us and for hundreds of other families each year.”

To contribute to the appeal, or to join Bob Smith on his final run, go to his JustGiving page, visit www.bobsgrandappeal.com or follow him on Twitter via @bobsm100.

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