Rory Coleman to run his 1000th Marathon at Nottingham

Nearly 1000 marathons and 23 years on from a ‘New Year's Resolution’ made to clean up his life, Rory Coleman (handicap 20.9)  has really earned the name 'Marathon Man’.

On January 5th 1994, the 40-aday smoker and hardened drinker managed to run just 100 metres. Far from being disheartened, he felt ecstatic as he’d found a way to clean up his act and live the rest of his life to the full… nicotine and alcohol free.

In just three months he lost three stone in weight and ran a half marathon, completing his first full marathon later that same year. Next was the London Marathon in April 1995. He enjoyed it so much that he ran one the following weekend… and the one after that… and has actually run a marathon every week since. To up the challenge, the distances became longer and the terrain became tougher, including the Grand Union Canal Race (145 miles) and the Marathon des Sables (branded ’The World’s Toughest Footrace’) in 1999. Next on the horizon were a number of one-off challenges including nine distance Guinness World Records for running on treadmills (101.3 miles in 24 hours is just one of them) and megaday races such as the Flora 1000 Mile Challenge in 2003, London to Lisbon for Euro 2004 and Stoptober in 2013.

In 2007, after a long career in Design and Print Sales, Rory made his passion his business and qualified as an Advanced Personal Trainer. Since then he has built a world-wide client base and has trained many celebrity clients, including Sir Ranulph Fiennes, BBC TV’s Helen Skelton. He is now the UK’s Leading ULTRA-marathon Coach and is regularly featured on the TV and in the Press and Running Magazines as well as being invited to speak to businesses about ’The Process of Change’

Last year, following the Marathon des Sables, Rory faced his biggest challenge to date after being paralysed with Guillain–Barré Syndrome, an extremely rare auto-immune disease that left him unable to walk and confined to a wheel-chair. He puts his amazing recovery down to being super-fit and having a positive mind-set. Since then he’s completed a further 13 marathons including the Marathon des Sables again and is looking forward to making it 1000 marathons at the Robin Hood Marathon on September 24th surrounded by family and friends.

In 2017, the Ikano Bank Robin Hood Half Marathon headline charity partner is Cancer Research UK and donations will help fund continued research into a cure for this devastating disease. A host of local charities will also benefit from the efforts of hundreds of seasoned club runners and amateur athletes taking part on their behalf. This year's local charity partners include the John van Geest Cancer Research Centre at Nottingham University, the Children's Brain Tumour Trust and Nottingham Hospitals Charity.

Registration for the half-marathon is £34.95 with a £5 discount available to England Athletics Registered Athletes (£29.95) and Wheelchair Half Marathon concessions are £10.

Athletes who would like to be considered for an elite place with the following performances in the past 12 months should contact [email protected] for further details:

·         Male half marathon runners – sub 70 minutes

·         Female half marathon runners – sub 80 minutes

For help and advice on getting round a half marathon click here.

For help and advice on completing a half marathon in 95 minutes click here.

For help and advice on completing a half marathon in 85 minutes click here.