Eastbourne man runs 84 miles in under 24 hours through rain and snow for local nursery

Ollie Goulden, 32, sent his childre to Little Rockets nursery during the first lockdown so he and his wife could go to work.

Grateful to the staff who provided childcare during a difficult time, Ollie wanted to do something for the nursery as a way of saying thank you.

He had a targe of £500 but has smashed through that and managed to raise £1,100 for the nursery.

He explained the run was tough and the training was intense too.

He said: “Training had been an ongoing thing, with a couple of long runs which included a 35-mile Beachy Head marathon loop.

“The run itself was mentally and physically the hardest thing I’ve done before, most fields were either under water due to flooding in the areas around the Weald Way or just mud, which made it very difficult to get any traction to walk let alone run.”

The run itself from Gravesend Pier to Eastbourne Pier took 23 hours and 50 minutes, starting in Gravesend at 3.30pm on the Saturday afternoon and finishing at Eastbourne Pier at 3pm on the Sunday after running through the night in the snow, cold and rain.

The money has gone some way to enabling the nursery to install a sensory room for the children.

Manda Saunders, owner and manager at Little Rockets Childcare, said: We are overwhelmed that Ollie has done this for the children at Little Rockets! He has run an amazing 87 miles from Gravesend pier to Eastbourne pier in the freezing cold and wet conditions.

“A thank you does not seem enough – he is a true inspiration and hero in our eyes and the children will benefit from his fundraising for years and years to come.

“A sensory room is a magical, interactive space filled with light, colour, texture and sound.

“It is very useful for children with additional needs as the therapeutic space helps to foster hand to eye co-ordination, social skills, colour recognition and language development.

“Using this space daily will allow the staff and children to form good attachments and work together to explore their surroundings.”

Donate at Ollie’s Justgiving page to help Little Rocket’s sensory room fund.