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On June 1st I set off from John O’Groats in Scotland, intending to run a marathon a day until I hit Land’s End at the bottom of England to raise money for my Mum and awareness of MS.

I last sent an email on day 23, updating you on the journey. I’ve since successfully completed the challenge and thought it was high time I updated you on how the rest of it went. I apologize that it’s taken me this long!

I’m sure I’ll share plenty more in the future about lessons learned and other stories, but for now I wanted to share my journal updates from day 24 - 42.

Enjoy…

Day 24:

Knocked out a half marathon in the sun and was surprised by Lara and Mike and family at the halfway point. I’ve never seen someone more excited to run than Margot. Who knew all you have to do to be a fun uncle is run 23 marathons in a row 😂

Met up with Sam and knocked out the last 8 miles. I think Sam chose the hardest possible day and route to join - straight uphill for about 5 miles in the heat, then 3 miles across the moors in the pitch black.

Day 25:

Brutal day. Can’t believe Will volunteered himself to join for a half marathon today. All I can say is I’ll always owe him one for that - because as tough as it was, it would have been a lot tougher alone.

Started with 7k of trails straight up into the hills. Stopped where the trail crossed the A Road and heard that there was a wildfire in the area we were supposed to be heading. Sacked off that trail and completely changed the route. Basically just ran back in the direction I came yesterday but slightly more south.

And yeah - the heat’s bad, but trust me, the hills are worse. That’s all I’ll say on the matter.

Day 26:

Today was the first day I really felt the heat. Lots of sweating as evidenced by the salt everywhere. Even McDonald’s was jealous when I walked in.

First 10k was as sluggish as they come. Had a decision to make - knew I could have phoned it in, took the rest easy, and nobody would have judged me for it given the circumstances - but I just had the thought of ‘well, if I can push hard and fast today when everything feels against me - how much more meaningful would that be?’

I’ve always believed that ‘private victories precede public victories.’ How you act when no one is watching says a lot about you, and knowing how much you’ve all been supporting and sharing this meant I couldn’t not go hard once again today. I’m asking a lot of you as far as donating and sharing and I can only in good faith do that if I know I’m leaving it all out here myself.

Day 27:

Joined by Jared and Alistair today.

Alistair has been fundraising for MS for years as it’s a cause close to his heart. He wanted to come and run today to support the cause and in memory of his own Mum who recently passed and had MS. It was a pleasure and an honour to have you with us today Alistair. 🤍

Jared is one of my best mates and as soon as I told people I was gonna do this crazy run, I knew he would come and run a marathon with me. It was just a matter of when, not if. No training but he powered through - once you’ve ran an Ironman, what’s one more marathon?

Day 28:

Thank you to Bethany and Lewis and family for driving all the way up to cheer me on today! Bethany just recently became cancer free after some really tough years but has always been the first to look out for other people. Appreciated it!

Grandpa and Shirley also surprised us this morning and it was a pleasure to spend the day with them too!

Then had the also unexpected pleasure of seeing Mamgu (Grandma) and Martha briefly and enjoyed catching up before we picked up the last 12 miles!

Also shoutout Doug who is an honorary Uncle at this point. When I lived in Telford I would climb at his climbing gym a few times a week and he was the person I talked to when I felt down or needed a pick me up. Somehow my route today just so happened to take me past the gym. Big up Newport Rock!!

Also had the awesome opportunity to chat to Gaby Roslin on the radio today which was a bit scary but had a brilliant time. Thank you!

It’s hard to push the pace on tired legs, but something I often think about is this - you only need to do it once. If you can do it once, the next time you’re in that situation all you need to do is remember that you’ve done it before. If you’ve done it before, why can’t you do it again? Doing it once is enough to prove to yourself you can do it every time.

Day 29:

Today I was joined by Nike who decided, as a few brave others have, to run his first marathon with no training. Please note this is not something I recommend you try at home. 😂

I knew Nike was gonna get it done, it was just a question of how much it was going to hurt. The answer was probably more than he expected. But I didn’t hear any complaints. I have a lot of respect for someone who says they’re going to do something and then does it.

Day 30:

Can’t say I had ‘run a marathon pushing a dog stroller’ on my bucket list, but either way it’s ticked off today.

First things first - the dog is all good! His physical and emotional wellbeing was the priority all day. (Sadly, above my own.)

We were joined by Sam and Mairi which was such a welcome bit of positivity and good vibes on an otherwise long day. Thank you so much for coming out and thank you to Pure Maintenance UK for sponsoring this leg of the run. Love the T-shirts ❤️

Mairi ran her first half marathon and helped keep me sane while I was pushing the dog - massive help!

Merry was getting a bit antsy right as we hit halfway so we decided to swap him out for a collection of teddies (plus a 6kg set of weights just to make sure the challenge didn’t get easier for me).

Just as I hit 32k, I was feeling the burn, when a car honked at me and a guy jumped out and started running with me dressed like he’d just come from Church. He had, in fact, just come from Church and had been trying to find me so he could run. He’d been prepared to run the whole thing, so I think he felt bad it was only the last section - but for me it was perfect timing. Not sure I’ve ever needed the company more than I did in that moment - thank you Wayne!!

Day 31:

Usually the best part of a marathon is finishing it, and knowing all that suffering is behind you.

There’s something pretty awful about experiencing that relief for a moment, but then remembering that the exact same thing is waiting for you the next day.

I promise I’m not the kind of guy that goes around quoting Nietzsche, but I listened to a podcast on him from How To Take Over The World a few months ago and there was one particular idea that stuck out. It’s something I think about a lot during this challenge.

Nietzsche called this idea ‘eternal recurrence.’

His basic idea was this: Could you attempt to do something so great in your life that it would justify all the pain and suffering that lead up to it? No matter how much you regret or resent how your life has been up until now, can you find the energy to work towards a singular purpose - that if achieved - would be so fulfilling that you would happily relive every preceding moment again and again just for the chance to relive that one moment?

Here’s how he said it:

‘What, if some day or night a demon were to steal after you into your loneliest loneliness and say to you: “This life as you now live it and have lived it, you will have to live it once more and innumerable times more: and there will be nothing new in it, but every pain and every joy and every thought and sigh and everything unutterably small or great in your life will have to return to you, all in the same succession and sequence — even this spider and this moonlight between the trees, and even this moment and I myself.”

Would you not throw yourself down and gnash your teeth and curse the demon who spoke thus? Or have you once experienced a tremendous moment when you would have answered him: “You are a God and never have I heard anything more divine.” ‘

I feel like I’m living out the thought experiment. Waking up and reliving the same strange and awful day over and over again. But when we hit 50k on that fundraiser, and I touch the sign at Land’s End, that moment will be so fulfilling that every one of these painful days will pale in comparison. Consider donating if you want to help make that happen.

Day 32:

I said when the fundraiser hit 35k I would see how hard it actually is to run a marathon in jeans, inspired by Truett Hanes. Turns out it’s hard, but doable. The really hard part was all the fatigue of the previous 32 marathons stacked on top of the jeans. 😂

Anyway, job done. Took just about everything I had for me to stare down today’s run and get it done but glad I did. Body is telling me I should have taken it slower but you only get to pretend to be Truett Hanes once, right?

Day 33:

Thanks to John, Jonathan and Simeon for the company today! Today was the most fatigued and beat up I’ve felt all trip so it was much needed. Didn’t really eat anything since yesterday’s run and it showed. Gonna get back on the spaghetti train asap.

I think sometimes the pictures make it look like we know what we’re doing but I assure you we’re complete amateurs. I literally just get out the car, put where I want to go in Google Maps, and hit walking directions. There’s no real planned route and I spend a lot of time each day just figuring out where to go every mile or so, based on how the roads look. There are definitely smarter ways to do this whole thing but it’s all part of the fun.

On that note, thank you to Ellis and Carys who offered us some water and ice while we were figuring out directions outside the pub. Appreciated that a lot 🤝

Day 34:

Could have sworn I was feeling good today but the data suggests otherwise. Running like a car stuck in first gear. The good news is I can stay stuck in first gear for a loooooong time. The marathon never stood a chance.

Day 35:

Struggling to find the words for this post, which is probably because I’m making it at 5am. Why am I making it at 5am? Because we were running until 1am. Why were we running until 1am? Because crew member Jacob said he was gonna run his first marathon today, and a promise is a promise.

We were also surprised by another friend named Jacob who likewise finished his first marathon. Jacob is a legend for coming and doing that today of all days. Crazy work.

There’s only one thing that got Jacob (and Jacob) through today - and it’s knowing that we’re doing this for something bigger than us.

Day 36:

It’s a lot easier to endure something when you can find ways to enjoy it.

Haven’t really enjoyed what I’m doing for a while now but today tried to give myself permission to find some joy in the journey.

Things I enjoyed today:

I used to feel like I had to be 100% suffering all the time for this challenge to mean something. No stopping to admire the view if the byproduct was that I had a minute to rest. No time to chat with Jacob while we run together if it means I have to slow down.

I think in the beginning it was important to prove to myself that I could do it that way if that’s what was required of me. If you want to know what you’re made of, you do need to test yourself.

But after 36 days of running 42.2k a day, I’m realising that in running, as in life, the suffering will usually take care of itself - it’s important to find the joy rather than only ever lean into the pain.

Either way, I know one thing for sure - if every day was like today, I think I could do this for years. And I reckon that’s the real secret to endurance.

Day 37:

Wanted to come into this challenge and give it my all. Have been trying to figure out what that actually means lately. How do you know when you’re giving it your all? Realised today while running down an A-Road at 11pm in the pitch black, ready to tuck myself into the verge at the edge of the road if a car flew by, that I am giving my all. I’m putting everything on the line to make this happen. Not sure how else to define giving my all.

Anyway - do need to also remind myself that this challenge isn’t about me anyway. The mission is the same as ever - raising money for Mum and awareness of MS. I’m locked in to doing whatever is best for that cause.

The support is appreciated as ever 🙏

P.S. goes without saying but I’d recommend not trying this at home.

Day 38:

Joined by Mark, Manda and Lulu today. Heat and hills were pretty rough all day so made a difference to have a bit of company for a while! Amazing running from all involved especially in today’s conditions.

Not sure if I hate hills or cars more at this point. The worst is probably cars on hills. Actually, the worst is probably tractors on hills because I can’t even step to the side - I have to go back down the hill until I can get out of its way, then run back up the hill. 2.2 Everests climbed so far, which ain’t bad for a boy who got called in sick the day before reaching base camp last year.

Another slow grind of a day but one day closer.

Thanks for all the support on the recent content we’ve been putting out. Means so much to know all this running is actually having an impact ❤️

Day 39:

We hit 50k today on the fundraiser - not sure I can find the words, but I’ll start by just saying thank you. What a journey it’s been. Thank you so much.

Today was wild - I don’t think I saw a flat road for longer than 60 seconds at a time. Just up and down all day. I’m sure Cornwall is a lovely place to visit if you’re not running marathons but honestly it’s not winning me over 😂

Some people think of running as a very binary thing - you start, and if you stop because it’s too hard or you’re too tired, that’s it. You’ve lost, running is too hard, you didn’t do it. Personally I think the beauty of it all is that only you get to decide when you’re beaten. Not the hills, not your body, not the sun. Those things might slow you down or even make you stop temporarily, but as long as you’re willing to go again and again and again you’ll beat the day in the end.

That’s why I keep coming back to that Hemingway quote - “a man can be destroyed but never defeated.” Whether or not you’re destroyed by the run isn’t up to you - but whether or not you’re defeated is.

It reminds me of two more quotes of the day:

“Why do we fall, sir? So we can learn to pick ourselves up.” - Alfred, Batman Begins

“Fall down seven times, stand up 8.” - Japanese proverb

Day 40:

Benji’s going to sleep right now so it’s actually the team writing this one.

Tomorrow is going to be a huge most likely 50+ mile day for him. So sleep is probably a little more important than this caption.

But we want to express our insane gratitude once again for all of your donations. It’s insane we hit over £54k before Benji hit the finish line. What a wonderful thing to see how generous and good people can be when given even the slightest chance. Thank you all - you wonderful, good, kind hearted people. You’ve changed our lives.

As for the actual run today thank you Sam for taking time out of your family holiday and coming and showing your support.

From what Benji said a lot of sun, tough roads and then to cap it all off - crazy traffic late at night on some pretty not fun roads.

Day 41:

24 hours of showing Mum and everyone with MS how much we care.

My brothers and I ran a combined 450km around a small holiday park and campsite in Newquay. I’ve never been more proud of anything as I was watching them step up and do this with basically no training or prep.

(I should definitely tell you DON’T TRY THIS AT HOME. We had a whole team whose job was to look after us and pull us out if we were becoming a danger to ourselves.)

The story:

I promised when the fundraiser hit 50k I would run 50 miles. Secretly, I wanted to run 100 miles. So I set up an informal backyard ultra at a campsite, where we would run 6.7km every hour.

We set off at 10am on Saturday and knocked out the first half in 30° heat. We were joined by Andy who is lovely company, and later by Lara, Mike and co which is always a boost. Thanks also to Emma for showing up later on!

As the camp got dark and everyone went to bed, the challenge got pretty real pretty quick.

One of the most impactful moments came when me and Simeon were comparing notes on staying motivated and disciplined while pushing ourselves. I gave him a few tricks of the trade and little mental exercises to do. He pretty matter of factly said something like: “I think it’s really just love that’s the biggest thing though.”

Around about 18 hours in, I called out to Jonathan. “We’re gonna do it!” I said. “We’re actually gonna do it!” 24 hours after we started, it was done.

Simeon, with no training, had logged 81 miles (130km). Jonathan and I managed 100 (161km). A total of 450km - or in other words, between the three of us we’d each averaged running a metre per person living with MS in the UK.

While we ran, Nadia logged another 18 miles(!) and Jacob stayed up all night cooking for us.

But one of the best parts was soon after having a chance to watch all the stories and posts from friends and family who had also got out on Saturday and ran, walked or biked. Between their efforts we added another 250km, bringing the total to 700km.

Undoubtedly one of the great privileges of my life to be a part of it! Thank you!

Day 42:

How do you put into words the feelings of accomplishing something that has been your singular focus for what feels like as long as you can remember?

I have so much I could say but I want to focus on gratitude.

I’m so grateful to everyone who has been part of this. Each day I had company was a special day that I will always treasure. I made lifelong memories with old and new friends, and it meant the world whenever you showed up. You showed both myself and Mum how much you cared, and I’ll never forget that.

I’m equally grateful to everyone who couldn’t physically be a part of the run, but who lent their unwearying efforts to supporting, sharing and sending good vibes over social media and messages.

One of the biggest privileges I’ve been afforded in this trip, and my life, is being able to have a glimpse into just how good so many people are when you give them a chance to show it. Whether it was making T-Shirts and posters, sending me food and supplements, or driving for hours just to spend a few miles on the road with me.

I’m grateful for people’s generosity. We smashed our fundraising target and it continues to climb thanks to the kindness of friends, family, and strangers.

I’m grateful beyond words to the team. @jacob_daniels0 and @nadiammair, nobody but me knows how much you gave to make this possible. And while I wish I could convey to everyone online the lengths you went to, you can rest assured that I will forever count what you did as the truest example of friendship I’ve ever seen.

I’m grateful to be done and to have accomplished everything we set out to accomplish. I’m grateful my body gave me what I needed to finish this task. I’m grateful my mind was able to find the strength to do all this.

I’m not sure it’s possible to push yourself in the way I did and not come away with some level of emotional baggage that likely needs to be dealt with. But I’m grateful for that too - because to have any emotion at all means I’m here, and alive, and there were times and roads where it felt like even that was being put to risk.

Most of all I’m grateful to my parents for all they’ve done for me. May this be the start of a long repayment ❤️

And there we go - 42 marathons (and a little extra) in 42 days, completed.

Consider donating at this link if you want to support the cause. Or if you can’t donate, share this with a friend!

Thanks for reading!

Benji and Jacob

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