LGS alum takes on running challenge for charity

For most people running a half marathon or full marathon is an achievement, with months of preparation before the big day. You also know that once you’ve completed the run that you can spend the next few days recovering and perhaps hobbling around with sore legs. Felix Martin (LGS 2021) on the other hand has accomplished something most people wouldn’t dream of doing – running 3 marathons in 3 consecutive days – and all in the name of two fantastic causes!

Having raised a fantastic £7,971 for the Matt Hampson Foundation and Movember, which far exceeds his original goal of £5,000 Felix has shared his reasons for why he wanted to take on such an immense challenge for two charities close to his heart.

“At the start of the year, I set a goal that I wanted to run a marathon for charity in support of the Matt Hampson Foundation, this quickly changed as I aimed to do something more challenging. I decided that I would try to run 3 marathons on 3 consecutive days.

The Matt Hampson foundation supports young people who have been seriously injured, and provides specialist rehabilitation, mentoring and physiotherapy for them. A friend suffered a spinal injury, after having had a car accident in 2020, and I have seen the enormous support he has been given, and the progress he has made from being a beneficiary of the foundation. This was a huge motivator for me, and I felt lucky to be able to run and try to raise awareness and funds for the foundation.

Also, six months ago, I lost a friend I had played rugby with at university. This had a big impact on us at the university. I therefore decided to also run for Movember, which supports various men’s problems, including mental health.

I have always played rugby, but was not a runner! At the start of the year, I decided that I was going to run the marathons. I started to go on a few jogs, and then I got a proper training plan around six months ago. It began as normal marathon prep, then developed further, running on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. I was doing 3-4 runs and averaging about 70km per week near the end of training, with my biggest week (except race week) being just over 100km in total.

For the first marathon I ran a route from Loughborough to the Matt Hampson foundation. The second and third days I ran in Bristol, where I am a student. On the third day, I quite literally ran into a very big problem, pulling my calf about 7km in, making it rather tough to get through. I did manage to finish all three marathons though, which I was chuffed about.

The support I have received throughout the process has been extraordinary, I am very thankful and I have loved every minute of it. It will be something that I will always remember. I’d like to thank everyone who has shown support and donated to my page on Givestar.”

Felix was interviewed on BBC Radio Leicester recently so fast forward to 1 hour and 54 minutes in the broadcast to hear more about his challenge, the personal stories behind it and how he prepared!

What an inspiration Felix is!