A man who ran the Manchester Marathon is one step closer to completing 84 marathons in 84 days.
Rob Stones, from Liverpool, is completing the ‘Beyond 84’ challenge to raise money and awareness for a baby bereavement charity in Liverpool.
“It was my best friends that went through it last year,” Rob said. “They’re like those friends that are more like family.
“So I felt like I went through it with them, seeing how it changed them, what they went through physically, emotionally.
“It was such a horrible time for them.
“But because we’ve run together, they were saying, in the last trimester a woman’s body goes through a marathon a day, the same energy output.
“So we were like, that sounds like a bit of a challenge, and then it spitballed into, I’m running a marathon a day.
The 31-year-old ran the Manchester Marathon with his friend on Sunday 19th April as day 78 of the challenge.
He ran the marathon in four hours and 26 minutes.
“We were running just to enjoy the day,” Added Rob.
“It was just a good jog, essentially, through Manchester.
“I know it sounds silly but, I was 78 marathons deep. It was just dead enjoyable.
“The weather was boss, the crowd was amazing.”
The Honeysuckle Bereavement service at Liverpool Women’s Hospital provide care and support for women and their families following pregnancy loss.
The charity also runs a football team specifically for bereaved dads who have experienced baby loss.
“They just talk about their week, or the past couple of weeks,” Rob explained.
“And it’s all guys that are going through the same thing, or have been through the same thing. They’re just there to look after each other.
“They’re like a big family, and then they go off and play footy for an hour or so, and it’s just a really good escape for them.”
As well as running a marathon every day, Rob works a full-time job in Telecoms.
This means sometimes he has to split the distance up across the 24-hour period.
“I try my hardest to get up at 6AM to get some in,” Rob said.
“But when you finish running at 10.30PM the night before, your body just wants to stay in bed and just relax and recover.”
So far, Rob has raised 212% of his original £2,200 target, with £6,933 raised on his JustGiving page.
He now has a higher target in sight.
“The goal would be to get to £8400, I think that would be amazing.
“I think it’s possibly doable.”
However, the challenge was also vital to ‘raise awareness around a taboo topic’.
“It’s such a taboo topic, no one wants to speak about it, so no one knows where to turn,” said Rob.
“When they get in this situation, they’re like; what do we do?
“The guys at Honeysuckle FC, I asked them, what would be one things you would say to a dad thinking of joining?
“They were like, just talk about it. And that just helps them through the process.”
Rob will complete the ‘Beyond 84’ challenge this Saturday, finishing his final marathon at Liverpool Women’s Hospital.
Kate Davis, Head of Fundraising at Liverpool Women’s Hospital said; “After many, many years of fundraising I have never met someone with such drive and determination.
“What Rob is doing for the Honeysuckle Bereavement support team at LWH is truly inspirational.
“The sheer physical and emotional grit needed for this challenge is immense and demonstrates Robs’ courage and conviction.
“We are incredibly grateful to Rob for enabling our bereavement team to continue providing, tailored, sensitive baby bereavement care for our families who have sadly lost babies.”
You can find out more about ‘Beyond 84’ here.
You can find more information and support from the Honeysuckle Bereavement service on their website.