A Reading man is taking on eight half marathons in five months to raise money for charity.

Tom Maples is halfway through the challenge, having completed four half marathons since December.

He is set to cover 105 miles in total and has already hit over 85 per cent of his fundraising target for Muscular Dystrophy UK.

Known as the ‘punk rock runner’ due to his love for punk music while training, Mr Maples is building quite the reputation.

He is taking on this challenge for Muscular Dystrophy UK because it is close to his heart, with friends who live with the condition.

Mr Maples said: “I’ve seen the brilliant work that Muscular Dystrophy do, and the help they can give to people living with the condition so that they can continue to enjoy their lives to the fullest. I wanted to give back to the charity.

“I've always loved to run but haven't been particularly good at it – so it seemed like a cool thing to do and really dig into a crazy distance to justify people caring enough to donate. I carried on adding half-marathon distances together till I got to a figure that felt unreachable.” 

With the Reading Half Marathon set to be his final race, Mr Maples is determined to keep fit to be able to finish the challenge in his hometown.

He continued: “The closest thing I've ever done was running the Rome Marathon years ago – unfortunately I was injured and literally limped almost the whole race, it was brutal. So, naturally, I've decided to do something four times longer than that. 

“I've still got half of the challenge to get through but it's all looking good and I'm ready!” 

Senior Manager, Regional Development, at Muscular Dystrophy UK, Julia Smith, said: “This is such a unique challenge and Tom’s certainly not going on easy on himself. We applaud his efforts and we’re so thankful for him championing our cause.

"We couldn’t do what we do without the kindness of people in the community like Tom, who go out of their way to raise vital funds so we can continue to prove essential help people with muscle-wasting conditions.” 

 

Click here to donate to Tom Maple's Just Giving page.