A FOREST of Dean pilot has raised nearly £13,000 for The Samaritans after running seven marathons in seven consecutive days.

Blakeney’s Chris Fordham, 43, ran back-to-back marathons, beginning on Monday, April 20, finishing off with the London Marathon on Sunday, April 26 - where he achieved a time of 5 hours and 3 minutes.

He took on the challenge in memory of a close friend who died last year, and in a bid to raise awareness of mental health.

Chris said: “The experience was amazing. I have been blown away by the amount of support, good wishes and messages from people about what this meant to them.

“It made me reflect on how lucky I am to have such amazing support from so many friends and family. Without them, this last week would have been so much harder.

“It’s been an incredible experience, it’s been physically, emotionally and mentally challenging at times, but overall it was incredibly enjoyable and uplifting because of the support I had and the people I’ve been able to meet and run with along the way.”

During Chris’s journey, he was able to meet many people from different backgrounds, speak with The Samaritans about the work they do, and make plenty of memories along the way.

Chris said: “I think the two most memorable moments were probably, the run to Reading from Oxford around a number of old school friends and a colleague of mine. We arrived at my old school, which was amazing, and linking up with people who I hadn’t seen in a very long time, and being able to reconnect with them. Then having the privilege of talking to the year 9 boys on the Friday morning was really cool and nostalgic - although it was the longest day in distance!”

“The London Marathon itself is like a party. Running around thinking this reflects the best of our country. People coming out on the streets cheering on people they don’t know and shouting your name as you go - you just feed off that energy. At the end being able to meet volunteers and employees from The Samaritans and hear about the work they do, and what the money we raised means to them, being able to answer phones for those who are struggling and keep doing the work they do - it was a really nice place to tie it all together and see it in the context of what we are doing this for.”

Chris wanted to highlight the importance of mental health awareness and the work that charities such as The Samaritans do.

He said: “It’s incredibly important. Sometimes it’s more difficult to reach out to people close to you, having those hard conversations with family and friends. But getting that awareness out there that there’s a group out there that you don’t know who will have that conversation with you, and has the experience to help you with what you’re struggling with is important. People try to bottle things up and hide them, but sometimes it’s easier to open up to those you don’t know.

“It’s incredible the depth of the conversations you can have with someone you don’t know because you feel perhaps there’s less judgement or there’s less history there - so I think it’s really important that people hear about the work that organisations like The Samaritans do, and know that they’re there to give that non-judgemental listening service and they’ll do their best to help you. Those volunteers are so passionate about the work they do and they’re keen to help as many people as possible.

“It would be great to continue to get that message out there. There is help available for everyone.”

In addition to raising awareness for the work of the Samaritans and the importance of mental wellbeing, Chris hopes his marathon challenge can inspire others to create their own journey.

He said: “For me, you lose someone and you start to consider the fragility of life. I’m at least halfway through my life and I thought - can I do this? But I thought - you know what, it’s so easy to sit around and do nothing and to think that these things are beyond you.

“I hope if people can pick up on another message it’s that your mind will tell you to stop, but you can keep pushing yourself in almost anything. We can all do so much more than we think we’re capable of. Sometimes it’s worth pushing yourself beyond your comfort zone to realise what you can really do. If you stay in your comfort zone your whole life - you’ll never find out.

“I think it’s not just with running. If there’s something you want to do in life, don’t wait - there’s never a better time to start doing something than now.”

Chris explained the most difficult times during his challenge was when he was running alone - which reminded him of facing things on your own.

He said: “It made me think whenever you’re facing a challenge, it’s harder when you’re totally on your own. You can get stuck in your own mind and you have to really dig deep.”

And this point was highly pertinent to the reason Chris completed the challenge. The Samaritans are there to be your ‘second runner’, and raising the awareness of the charity was at the forefront of the marathons.

Now that Chris has returned to The Forest of Dean, he hopes to get some good sleep and to readjust to the idea of not getting up for another marathon!

At the time of writing, Chris has raised £12,900 - but donations are still being accepted. If you would like to donate to Chris’s cause, you can do so through his Just Giving page.

If you need to speak to The Samaritans, help is available online or by calling 116 123.