Coronavirus: No London Marathon? Then let’s do it at home!

A Londoner living in Co Down and a Co Down man living in London will both attempt to run a marathon at home this weekend.
By The Newsroom
Published 22nd Apr 2020, 13:59 BST
Col Bignell from Comber, Co Down training in his living room as he prepares to run a marathon in his front room which he will run back and forth over 11,000 timesCol Bignell from Comber, Co Down training in his living room as he prepares to run a marathon in his front room which he will run back and forth over 11,000 times
Col Bignell from Comber, Co Down training in his living room as he prepares to run a marathon in his front room which he will run back and forth over 11,000 times

Col Bignell, a 26-year-old from London who now lives in Comber, had been looking forward to returning to the capital this weekend for the London Marathon.

But with the event postponed to October, he decided to run in his living room, which will involve going back and forth thousands of times.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

He told the PA news agency: “I’ve marked out the space and it’s around 12 foot, so I’ve worked out it’ll probably take me about 7,000 back and forth, which is quite a lot. I’ll be running laps of my front room around 11,500 times.

Comedian Ryan Hand from Newcastle, Co Down will undertake ‘Marathon On My Street’ in aid of Marie CurieComedian Ryan Hand from Newcastle, Co Down will undertake ‘Marathon On My Street’ in aid of Marie Curie
Comedian Ryan Hand from Newcastle, Co Down will undertake ‘Marathon On My Street’ in aid of Marie Curie

“But I’ve seen Tom Moore and the lady who did the stairs and thought, if they can do it, why not do something myself.”

Retail worker Col said he wanted to mark the day he had been due to run his first marathon: “I’ve been running every day since the pandemic for my one hour of exercise that I’m allowed. I’ve done half marathons but never a full marathon.

“The London Marathon is still going ahead in October, but I thought it would be nice to have something on that day to mark the day I would have done it.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“The new date is two days after my wedding, hopefully it all still goes ahead. My fiancee thinks I’m crazy.”

Col said he is aiming to raise £260.20 for the NHS and has already raised £140 towards that goal.

Also this weekend, comedian, Ryan Hand from Newcastle, Co Down, will undertake ‘Marathon On My Street’ in aid of Marie Curie.

Attempting to run 300 laps of the driveway outside his home in Islington, north London, Ryan is undertaking this challenge in response to local charities’ appeals for help during the pandemic: “I was sitting at home thinking, ‘what can I do?’ It’s devastating to think that all those local charities that do incredible work, day-in, day-out, are now finding themselves without the necessary funding unable to provide the vital services that they do.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“Marie Curie, in particular, is a cause close to my heart, so I couldn’t bear to see them struggling. I walked outside and measured the distance between the top and bottom of our road which is 0.14km. After some quick maths I realised 300 laps would equal the distance of a marathon.”

The official London Marathon was due to take place this Sunday, however Ryan was not set to run the race himself: “I haven’t been training for the 26.2 miles distance – in fact, I’ve done zero training for this – which perhaps doesn’t leave me best prepared, but the thought of those in the care of the amazing Marie Curie nurses will spur me on, as will the memory of my mum and aunt Eileen.”

Related topics:LondonMarie CurieTom MooreNHS