Our amazing supporter Bruce Hampton has raised an incredible £3,266, having taken on a challenging ‘Four Marathons and an Ultra’ fundraiser for Birmingham Hospice.
He’s kindly shared some words about his challenge:
“I started fundraising for Birmingham Hospice as part of the Jingle Bell Jog back in 2020. Coming out of COVID-19, it was a virtual run and instead of completing the proposed 10k, I set myself the challenge of running 100k in the month instead.
“The following year I found myself running several half marathons in January and came up with the idea of running 50 across the whole year. As I had raised money for the hospice before, it seemed a natural fit to do so again. Now, each time I come up with a mad scheme, I come back to Birmingham Hospice to raise money for them!
“After completing a 24-hour ultra marathon, Escape Meriden, in 2023, I wanted to find an even bigger challenge to complete in 2025.
“During that year, I’d been successful in gaining entries for the Manchester Marathon, Milton Keynes Marathon and the Race to the Stones Ultra Marathon and when I failed to get a place for the London Marathon, I added the Brighton Marathon. This already left me with three marathons in a month; when a friend suggested Paris, the idea of ‘Four Marathons and an Ultra’ was born. I’d run marathons back-to-back before, but not attempted four in a month!
“Training through February and March went well, although I was telling everyone that I wasn’t targeting a specific time and that I just wanted to complete the challenge; however, when I managed to go under 3 hours for 20 miles in my last warm up event, I knew I was in top form.
“At the Brighton Marathon on 6 April, everything fell right; the weather was perfect, my legs felt great, my family were watching and I flew round the course; a new PB by 18 minutes! Paris (13 April) was harder, I forgot my gels and my phone pouch and had to make do with non-tested alternatives. The terrain was also difficult, with lots of cobblestones and some sections where the crowds narrowed the course significantly. Still, I managed to break the 4-hour barrier again.
“Manchester (27 April) was unseasonably warm, with lots of runners struggling on the course. I settled into a rhythm early making sure that I drank plenty of water and that I kept it sensible. I was rewarded with a third sub 4-hour performance.
“The last marathon in the block was Milton Keynes (5 May). Several of my sponsors offered to double their donations if I could make it four sub 4-hour marathons in the month. This was another race day where I felt great almost all the way round. For the first half of the race, I was with the half marathon pacer for 1 hour and 50 minutes, way ahead of my schedule. While I faded slightly in the second half, I was only just outside my Brighton Marathon time and again well inside the 4-hour mark.
“My focus then shifted to Race to the Stones (12 July) – a 100km Ultramarathon. I completed several trail races in the buildup, making sure that I was used to running long distances off road. Nothing could have prepared me for the day itself; at 7.30am it was already 30°! It turned out to be the hottest day of the year.
“I estimate that I drank nearly 20 litres of water during the event, refilling my bottles at every opportunity and running out before the next water station each time. In the latter stages I was struggling badly and ended up having to do the last 10km in the dark. I crossed the line at about 1am – the challenge was complete!
“I am not sure what will come next – I am starting to put my programme together for 2027 and have some ideas about what my next big challenge might be!”
To find out how you can organise your own fundraiser for Birmingham Hospice, please visit our website.
Thanks so much Bruce for taking on this challenge of epic proportions – you are incredible!
