This Eastbourne dad is running FOUR laps of Beachy Head Marathon – for an amazing reason

An Eastbourne dad is taking on the insane challenge of running multiple laps of one of the hardest races in the world.
Ollie Goulden with his family, and runningOllie Goulden with his family, and running
Ollie Goulden with his family, and running

Ollie Goulden will complete the Beachy Head Marathon course not once, not twice, but four times in a row on March 7.

The 31-year-old personal trainer is doing this all to raise funds for two charities close to his heart – Macmillian Cancer Support and the Beachy Head Chaplains.

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He said, “Quite a few seasoned ultra runners have told me I’m bonkers. But I want to show people that everything is possible.”

Beachy Head Marathon is described as one of the toughest races in the worldBeachy Head Marathon is described as one of the toughest races in the world
Beachy Head Marathon is described as one of the toughest races in the world

The main reason behind the challenge is in memory of his step-dad Tom Duffy, who died of bowel and lung cancer in 2018, just four months after being diagnosed.

Ollie said, “I wanted to commemorate those four months he was alive. Macmillan nurses were brilliant for him.

“Doing this challenge, I’ll never go through the same amount of pain he went through. What I’m doing is nothing compared to that.”

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He is also raising funds for Beachy Head chaplains, who he says do an ‘amazing service’.

While many people would be happy doing just one marathon, Ollie explained his thought process behind wanting to run 104.8 miles non-stop.

He said, “Beachy Head Marathon is one of the most iconic off road marathons in the UK.

“I thought, ‘why not do four laps to raise money for two charities that are quite close to my heart?’

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“It’s a big thing to do. It’s not going to be an easy task up there. If there’s a storm it could be quite interesting.

“And it’s going to be hard with the sleep deprivation – but I’ve got two kids so I’m used to it!”

Ollie plans to start the challenge at about 2pm on the Saturday, and complete it by around the same time the next day. All without stopping.

He says a number of local running clubs have volunteered to join him along the way to provide encouragement.

But he said, “My family are my biggest motivation, I want to make them proud.”

To see Ollie’s fundraising page, visit https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/OllieGouldenBeachyLoops