You’ll remember earlier this month we reported on marathon runner Ben Cook’s plan to run the entire length of the Tyne and Wear Metro for charity. The August Bank Holiday weekend was selected to complete it and he managed to run the full 63 miles over two days – in a combined time of 11 hours and 30 minutes.
Ben was running on behalf of The Running Charity, which helps young people who are homeless or risk of homelessness, and tracked the whole Metro route by using nearby roads and footpaths. Completing 27 miles on the first day between South Hylton and Newcastle Airport, he then ran the final 36 miles on the Yellow route between South Shields and St James via the North Tyneside coastal loop the following day.
Ben said: “I’m buzzing to have completed this Metro marathon. It was amazing to cross that finish line. I was knackered after two days of back to back running. The hardest part was the second morning. I almost didn’t want to leave the house. The first ten miles from South Shields was really tough. I’ve had great support along the way from my wife and my colleagues at Heaton Harrierrs running club. It was brilliant to see that finish line and see my wife Hannah waiting for me there.
“I want to say thanks to everyone who has supported me and sponsored me on the run. I’m hoping to raise over £2,000 for The Running Charity, which will go to help homeless young people. It’s a cause close to my heart. I’ll have a well earned rest now, but I am thinking to try this same Metro route again next year, and next time get it all done in one single day.”
Lynne Dickinson, Head of Station Delivery at Nexus, said: “We’re thrilled to hear that Ben has completed his epic Metro marathon. It’s been a phenomenal effort for a really great cause. When we heard about this challenge we thought he was a bit crazy for taking that on over two back to back days, but he’s shown incredible stamina and fitness to get to the finish.
“It can’t have been easy running that far, especially on that second day when he still had 36 miles in front of him after 27 miles on day one. Metro covers such a wide area and the run has shown the network is a lot bigger than many people realise.”
Ben was using the Metro route as training for a 100 mile ultra marathon that he’s taking on in September which sees him run from Holy Island to Hexham in one day.
- To donate to Ben’s charity go to his JustGiving page at https://www.justgiving.com/page/metrothon