Dan Reynolds, 31, from Harpenden has completed an impressive seven marathons in the space of just six weeks, raising almost £3,000 for Rennie Grove.
Dan’s challenge started with this year’s London Marathon on 2 October and saw him complete races around the UK as well as Chicago, before finishing in the home of the original marathon, Athens.
Dan was moved to take on the epic challenge after his mum’s partner, Alan, died of cancer last year and was supported by Rennie Grove at the end of his life. He chose the spacing of six weeks to reflect the time between the onset of Alan’s symptoms and his death. The final marathon of Dan’s challenge, Athens, took place on 13 November – the first anniversary of Alan’s death.
Dan says: “The challenge was great and to my surprise, each race seemed to be slightly easier than the last – definitely not easy, but easier – rather than harder, which is what I had expected. I think my legs started to get used to the shorter recovery times. And I’m relieved that I was lucky to stay injury-free throughout the challenge.”
When asked how he approached the series of marathons, Dan – who has completed marathons in the past but never in close succession – said:
“I took each race on its own and just focused on the run in front of me, rather than thinking ahead to the whole challenge. It sounds like a huge cliché, but one race at a time really was the only way to approach it.”
He continues:
“My favourite marathon of the challenge has to be London. I’ve never run it before and although I’ve heard how great it is and how amazing the crowds are, you really can’t appreciate it until you’ve done it. That was a great way to start the challenge. And to finish it in the Panathenaic Stadium in Athens, at the finish line of the original modern marathon, was incredible.
“I finished the challenge on the anniversary of Alan’s death and it felt very poignant as it gave me the opportunity to reflect and think about the past year. Last year I was in Athens to run the same event and received the news that Alan had passed away the day before the race. We were all just completely in shock back then, however coming back this year to run it again, this time for Rennie Grove, felt like a fitting way to mark his one-year anniversary.
“I started this challenge to raise money for Rennie Grove after its Hospice at Home nurses provided such wonderful care and support to Alan and I’m delighted to have raised almost £3,000 through sponsorship.”
If you’d like to find out more about taking part in a Rennie Grove challenge event, contact the team on fundraising@renniegrove.org.
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