On July 1st, 2022, Alan Done laced up his running shoes, pulled on his Bolton Hospice running vest, and took to the streets of Bolton for the first of 31 gruelling marathons.

For the average person, the thought of running a singular 26.2 miles would be enough to send shivers down their spine, but, for Alan, completing just one marathon wasn’t anywhere near enough of a challenge. Instead, Alan set himself the epic task of running a huge 31 marathons – one a day – throughout July.  

It wasn’t long before Alan reached his initial fundraising target of £500, largely helped by the generosity of passers-by who started to recognise Alan on his daily runs, and hand him donations en-route.

At the halfway mark of his challenge, Alan came face-to-face with a heatwave and some of the hottest temperatures ever recorded in the UK! To try and avoid the warmer hours, Alan started his marathons at 6am, but, even then, found it tough:

“Marathon #19 was the toughest so far, by a million miles. I was close to tears at 24 miles. The heat was brutal.”

July raced by, and, before too long, Alan had just a week left of his epic marathon challenge. Alan’s continuing efforts hadn’t gone unnoticed by the Mayor of Bolton, Councillor Akhtar Zaman, who was delighted to meet and congratulate Alan at the end of marathon number 22.

This wasn’t the only special recognition Alan received as his final marathon drew closer, as the Bolton Health and Wellbeing Awards announced Alan as a finalist in the Inspirational Man of the Year category for their 2022 awards. We’re rooting for Alan to go all the way! 

Before we knew it, it was July 31st, and Alan crossed his 31st finish line - in his fastest time, no less! Alan was greeted by a crowd of supporters, and treated to a celebratory drink, before sharing an emotional few words about his challenge, which you can watch below.

Alan well and truly smashed his £500 target, finishing his challenge having raised an incredible £3400 – more than £100 per marathon – and that total just keeps on going up. 

We’d like to say a HUGE well done and thank you to Alan, our very own Marathon Man.