Latest news with #NeilWilliams
BBC News
3 days ago
- Sport
- BBC News
'Addicted' runner from Plymouth gears up for his 500th marathon
A man who vowed he would never run again after completing his first race is set to run his 500th marathon Williams, from Plymouth, who ran his first marathon in 2011, is expected to reach the 500th milestone on his birthday by running the Dartmoor Discovery Ultra, a gruelling 32-mile (51.4km) road race."It does become a bit of an addiction, but I didn't start off any different to most people," he Dawe, from Cornwall, will run her 100th ultra marathon - and her 536th marathon - at the same event. 'Scratch that itch' Mr Willliams, 58, who once ran 100 marathons in 50 weeks, said: "You find people will either do one marathon and never touch it again."Or they'll do a marathon and find they can't scratch that itch and it's got to be another, and maybe another, and then you get into the crazy world of multiple marathon running."We're just a mad bunch really."He said long-distance runners needed determination as much as physical fitness."It's mental more than anything, having the mental attitude to do the training and go out and do the distance," he said. Ms Daw, a farmer from near Callington, said the Dartmoor Discovery Ultra may well be her 59-year-old became the first British woman to complete the Norseman Xtreme Triathlon in 2006, having run the first of 535 marathons in London 12 years earlier."I run because it just helps my mental state, to be honest, and I can't imagine the time when I can't run," she said. "Your body takes a pounding. I mean Neil is the same, we both look at each other and we're getting older with more aches and pains."I'm hoping it's my last ultra, but you can never say never."
BBC News
3 days ago
- BBC News
Lowestoft's World War Two child evacuees mark 85th anniversary
Wartime evacuees who fled the imminent threat of invasion and bombing are to reunite to mark a milestone anniversary summer reunion, taking place at Lowestoft railway station is for World War Two evacuees who boarded trains up to Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire 85 years event will give attendees the chance to reminisce about their experience of being part of the more than 3,000 schoolchildren and teachers evacuated from the Suffolk town. Jacqui Dale, of the Lowestoft Central Project, said: "It's always a great privilege to host the reunion and enable evacuees to meet and reminisce about their time away." The then-youngsters left the town on 2 June 1940, with more than 600 of them and their teachers finding sanctuary in and around the town of then, strong ties have been remained between the two towns which are celebrated by the Wherry Lines Community Rail Partnership and Lowestoft Central Project 2021, for example, the two projects installed two giant interpretation panels on the station concourse as a permanent reminder of the Lowestoft schools' evacuation. 'Important memories' Neil Williams, chairman of the Friends of Glossop Station, is one of many determined to ensure the relationship between the two communities is maintained."I'm so pleased that both our communities continue to cherish these important memories and that the friendships made are not only still celebrated but are now being retold for future generations," he Williams will be the special guest at Saturday's event which will also celebrate 200 years of passenger train travel in the UK. "We are thrilled Neil will attend and give an update on what is happening in Glossop, especially as so many were given refuge there during the war," added Ms event runs from 12:00 BST until 15:00. Follow Suffolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
National Post
21-05-2025
- National Post
Toronto man who killed his mom because 'he thought she was a zombie' gets absolute discharge
A Toronto man who stabbed his mother to death nearly a dozen years ago because 'he thought she was a zombie' has been granted an absolute discharge by the Ontario Review Board. Article content Article content Neil Williams, 55, was charged with second-degree murder for his mom's Nov. 5, 2013, death. But he was found not criminally responsible in the fall of 2014 on account of a mental disorder. Since the end of 2023, Williams has been living on his own, reporting regularly to a psychiatrist at Toronto's Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH). Article content Article content 'The board finds that Mr. Williams no longer meets the threshold of posing a significant threat to the safety of the public and accordingly, he must be absolutely discharged,' according to a recent decision from the five-member panel. Article content 'He told the 9-1-1 dispatcher that he had stabbed his mother in the chest because he 'thought she was a zombie,'' said the decision. Article content 'Neil Williams was found by his mother's side attempting to perform CPR,' said the decision. 'Janet Williams was pronounced dead at the hospital.' Article content Williams told investigators he 'was at home with his mother and father that morning,' said the decision. Article content Article content 'He was feeling unwell and vomited. He was unable to take his medication for his bipolar disorder because he was feeling sick. He started to get paranoid thoughts. It felt as though someone was after him.' Article content Article content That feeling 'went away but returned after his father had left for work,' said the decision. 'He then got strange thoughts and paranoia about his mother. He remembered getting a knife. His memory got blurry after he got the knife. He vaguely remembered stabbing his mother. After he stabbed his mother the paranoid feelings went away and he felt dread.' Article content Before his mother's death, Williams was living with his parents in a Toronto home, said the decision. 'He was unemployed and financially supported by them.' Article content His mom was trained as a lawyer, but she stopped working after Williams was born and returned to employment when he was in his early 20s. 'Mr. Williams describes having had a positive relationship with his mother.'
