Marathon Man – Against All Odds from Ross McClure on Vimeo.
When I first heard about what Rob Young was planning, I thought it was a joke. As many of you will know, running one marathon is quite a task. But to run one everyday for a year? That was just nuts.
Anyway, I met with Rob on one of his morning marathons round Richmond Park (at this point, he was starting at 3am, running 26.2miles and then heading to work) to find out what motivates a man to do something like this. The story that emerged was remarkable. Rob had never run a marathon before the start of the challenge. He was hoping to raise £200,000 for children’s charities, having suffered terrible abuse as a child. And he was so positive about running.
Then disaster struck. More than 200 consecutive marathons into his attempt, his left leg gave out and he was ordered to stop for six weeks. Was this the end of the challenge? Not likely. Rob healed quicker than anyone could have hoped and decided 365 marathons wasn’t enough. He was going for 400 – an out-and-out record.
This I had to see. So I asked two friends – journalist George Bull and director Ross McClure – if they’d be interested in capturing Rob’s challenge on film. They agreed, and the result is Marathon Man: Against All Odds. I hope you enjoy watching it. Rob really is an inspiration to runners everywhere – a man who proves we are all stronger than we think.
