Latest news with #Oliver'sWish
Yahoo
03-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Men complete six 'brutal' ultramarathons in six days
Two friends have completed six "brutal" ultramarathons in six days to raise money for charity. Simon Pilkington, from Bristol, covered about 180 miles (289.6km) along with Rob Dowling, from West Sussex. The men were raising money for the Oliver's Wish Foundation, set up after Mr Dowling's two-year-old son died in 2015 from Sudden Unexplained Death in Childhood (SUDC). Mr Pilkington said the challenge had been "amazing, yet incredibly and brutally tough". The men started with the London Marathon on 27 April - and spent the next five days running about 30 miles (48km) per day during a heatwave. "The added heat was just something else. It absolutely sapped every part of our energy," said Mr Pilkington. More news stories for Bristol Watch the latest Points West Listen to the latest news for Bristol With the support of friends - who joined them during certain points of the route - the pair managed to raise more than £51,000 for Oliver's Wish, which helps charities supporting babies, children and young people. Mr Pilkington said he spent six months training for the challenge, building his aerobic fitness through boxing and long distance running. His training regime included waking up at 05:00 in the middle of winter to go running and taking ice baths for recovery. He said building this discipline helped him to stay focused during the challenge. Initially, Mr Dowling had only signed up for The London Marathon, but later decided to join Mr Pilkington - who he met at a previous fundraising event - for the full challenge. After completing the London Marathon the pair collected their medals and continued running for another five miles (8km) up to Paddington. They spent the next five days running 30miles (48km) each day, following the canal paths back home to Bristol. Mr Pilkington said the biggest struggle was to wake up each day and resume running again, but that motivation came from seeing the donations coming in. "One day we saw another grand come in, another day another five grand, until we got to £51,000," he said. A crowd of family, friends and neighbours greeted them when they finally arrived in Westbury-on-Trym at about 18:30 BST on Friday. "It was an amazing reception coming into Westbury," said Mr Pilkington. "There was 40 children and their parents up on The Downs giving us a guard of honour. "I'm proud of us as a group for managing to do it." The money raised through the challenge will allow Oliver's Wish to help fund charity research into the cause of sudden unexplained death in children. The funds will be donated to SUDC UK, Chestnut Tree House Children's Hospice and the The Cystic Fibrosis Trust. "The charities we support desperately need the funds," said Mr Dowling. "We know that the money is going to be put specifically to medical research, which we hope will one day make this awful mystery of a diagnosis a thing of the past." Follow BBC Bristol on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to us on email or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630. Man 'excited' for six ultra marathons in six days Fundraiser aiming for ultra marathon glory at 87 Man with cystic fibrosis to run London Marathon Oliver's Wish
BBC News
03-05-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Men complete 'brutal' six ultramarathons in six days
Two friends have completed six "brutal" ultramarathons in six days to raise money for charity. Simon Pilkington, from Bristol, covered about 180 miles (289.6km) along with Rob Dowling, from West men were raising money for the Oliver's Wish Foundation, set up after Mr Dowling's two-year-old son died in 2015 from Sudden Unexplained Death in Childhood (SUDC). Mr Pilkington said the challenge had been "amazing, yet incredibly and brutally tough". The men started with the London Marathon on 27 April - and spent the next five days running about 30 miles (48km) per day during a heatwave. "The added heat was just something else. It absolutely sapped every part of our energy," said Mr Pilkington. With the support of friends - who joined them during certain points of the route - the pair managed to raise more than £51,000 for Oliver's Wish, which helps charities supporting babies, children and young Pilkington said he spent six months training for the challenge, building his aerobic fitness through boxing and long distance training regime included waking up at 05:00 in the middle of winter to go running and taking ice baths for said building this discipline helped him to stay focused during the challenge. Initially, Mr Dowling had only signed up for The London Marathon, but later decided to join Mr Pilkington - who he met at a previous fundraising event - for the full completing the London Marathon the pair collected their medals and continued running for another five miles (8km) up to spent the next five days running 30miles (48km) each day, following the canal paths back home to Pilkington said the biggest struggle was to wake up each day and resume running again, but that motivation came from seeing the donations coming in."One day we saw another grand come in, another day another five grand, until we got to £51,000," he said. A crowd of family, friends and neighbours greeted them when they finally arrived in Westbury-on-Trym at about 18:30 BST on Friday."It was an amazing reception coming into Westbury," said Mr Pilkington."There was 40 children and their parents up on The Downs giving us a guard of honour."I'm proud of us as a group for managing to do it."The money raised through the challenge will allow Oliver's Wish to help fund charity research into the cause of sudden unexplained death in funds will be donated to SUDC UK, Chestnut Tree House Children's Hospice and the The Cystic Fibrosis Trust."The charities we support desperately need the funds," said Mr Dowling."We know that the money is going to be put specifically to medical research, which we hope will one day make this awful mystery of a diagnosis a thing of the past."
BBC News
07-04-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Bristol man running six ultramarathons in six days for charity
A man planning to run six ultra marathons in six days said he is excited and nervous after not running more than 15 miles "in years".Simon Pilkington, 42, from Bristol, will cover about 180 miles (289.6km) to raise money for Oliver's Wish, which helps charities supporting babies, children and young organisation is named after four-year-old Oliver Dowling, who died in 2015 from Sudden Unexplained Death in Childhood (SUDC). Oliver's dad, Rob Dowling, will join Mr Pilkington on his first run will be London Marathon on 27 April, which they will extend to Paddington station before running five more ultras along canal and river paths to Bristol. Mr Pilkington first raised money for Oliver's Wish when he learnt to box two years ago for a match with his iGaming industry colleagues. The group went on to raise £152,000 for the charity."This time I wanted a bigger challenge to try to raise even more money for them," he Pilkington completed the London Marathon before, in 2013, but had been unsuccessful in his applications every year he heard he had been successful for the 2025 event, he said he had just finished a book by ultra marathon sea swimmer Ross Edgely and was feeling "far too inspired"."I found a run that takes place in July, going from Paddington to Bristol using the canal pathways, and thought I could use that plan after the marathon," he said."The charity was really happy me for me to do it, so it very quickly came together."He said although he is in a "weird phase" of excitement and self-doubt as the challenge gets closer, his wife and children have continued to inspire him. Mr Dowling, 50, from West Sussex, has said he hopes the challenge will not only raise money for his son's foundation but will "inspire others to be involved". "Simon's challenge is just incredible and once I learned what he was taking on, I knew I had to support him on this journey," he said. Mr Pilkington said he is breaking his training down to experience the fatigue of long-distance running while focusing on avoiding injury."So far, wearing barefoot trainers, I've not had a blister yet," he said he is focused on nutrition, practicing what he can eat while running, and using ice baths for recovery."Although I'm not a big cold water fan, they've been really helpful," he said. "But I can't take them with me.""Every day is about the brain and mindset getting you through it," he added. Some people are planning on joining the duo for sections of the challenge."[We have] lots of friends joining on day six, because we're finishing at the pub in Westbury," he joked."And one thing I'm looking forward to is soaking up the atmosphere as I didn't really get a chance to enjoy that last time when I was running London Marathon, because I was so focussed on trying to get a personal best time."
