Clanfield man completes marathon on treadmill in garage for NHS whilst watching Portsmouth FC's Checkatrade final win over Sunderland

WATCHING Pompey’s victory in the Checkatrade Trophy final, having family and neighbours cheering him on and being filmed on Facebook live were some of the things that helped Rob Fleming as he embarked on a marathon in his garage.
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The 42-year-old was meant to be running in the Brighton marathon before it was cancelled following the coronavirus outbreak.

But having spent weeks training for his seventh marathon, Rob did not want his efforts to go to waste.

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So the Clanfield financial consultant decided to put his training to good use and embark on the 26 miles on a treadmill in his garage.

Rob FlemingRob Fleming
Rob Fleming

‘I did a fair bit of training for the Brighton marathon and thought it would be good to do something for a good cause,’ Rob said.

‘I didn’t think it was possible to do anything outside for that length of time and then remembered I had a treadmill in the garage so why not use that and raise some money for the NHS.’

Rob then drummed up support for his fundraiser and after smashing his initial target of £500 kept pushing his goal up - resulting in him raising £1,760 after completing the challenge.

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A glorious sunny day and throwing open the garage doors, along with his entourage of supporters – both present and online – helped Rob achieve his feat in three hours and 31 minutes.

‘I kept an even pace and was pretty chuffed with the time which was comparable to the normal time I have done from my six previous marathons.

‘My kids came into the garage, my neighbours were at the end of the drive and I had people going past waving after we put a board up to say what I was doing.

‘Watching a rerun of Pompey’s win over Sunderland in the Checkatrade Trophy and having benefits like water whenever I needed helped me. All the comments from people on a Facebook Live we did helped a lot as well.’

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Rob added: ‘People obviously want to help the NHS at the moment and I am pleased for the support I received and pleased with raising the amount of money I did.’

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