'I had to raise the bar': Remarkable Fareham man completes 31 marathons in 31 days in gruelling charity challenge

Paul Snelling, from Fareham, has raised thousands of pounds for charity after taking on a tremendously tough running challenge over the past month.

The 38-year-old, who is an avid runner, was determined to take part in the London Marathon on Sunday (April 27) and raise money for the Zurich Community Trust.

But he knew that in order to generate a significant amount of donations, he would have to up the ante - and that is exactly what he did as he took on 31 marathons in 31 days.

Paul said: “I have been a run club member since 2016 and I did the London Marathon for the first time in 2018 and it was quite a rubbish experience because it was my first marathon.

“I knew I had to raise the bar because I do too much running so no one was going to sponsor me to just run a marathon so I had to do something different - I was following a guy last year who ran a marathon a day so I took inspiration from that.”

The dad of three started his challenge at the end of March by completing the Jurassic Coast challenge before taking on the Southampton Marathon. He then continued to run just over 26 miles every day this month before heading to London for the final leg of his challenge.

He added: “There have been highs and lows. I have had days where I felt amazing and I felt in really good spirits and I’ve come back and been quite positive - I usually run 70 or 80 miles a week so I knew physically I could do it but there have been some days where I wasn’t sure if I could complete it.

“On one of my runs, my hip had gone and I just sat on a bench crying and I thought this is it - I didn’t think I was going to get over it and then the next day I was fine.”

Paul said that when the final day came, he wanted to ‘soak up the experience’ and enjoy the marathon, which he completed in 3 hours and 23 minutes.

Paul explained: “I have just been so overwhelmed with the support I’ve had and I don’t know how to respond and put how I feel into words - I am so proud of everyone who has helped me because I thought at the beginning I was doing a solo challenge and I was confident I could do it but it isn’t a solo challenge because I’ve had the support from my wife, my friends, my family and my run club.”

Paul originally set a target of £2,000 but following his incredible achievement, he has raised a total of £5,640 for the Zurich Community Trust which partners with large charities to support them within the community.

For more information about Paul’s fundraiser, click here.