Ben’s 401 Challenge

Jog Scotland Dunfermline had a great day, despite it being very warm, supporting Ben in his amazing 401 marathons over 401 days.

Ben Smith took on a challenge to run 401 marathons in 401 days back in October 2015 to promote anti-bullying and raise money for Stonewall and Kidscape charities. Mags first became aware of him through social media when they were looking for running groups to create routes for his marathons around Britain. After getting in touch with the organisers Jog Scotland Dunfermline agreed to create a 26.2 mile route for him to run during his time in the town. The Team set to work and created a route which would mean that joggers of all abilities would be able to join in and run a few miles or the full 26.2 miles with Ben.
Ben was to run in Dunfermline on the 31st May so the 4 weekends prior a core group of Jog Scotland Dunfermline members set about running different sections to ensure that the route would be safe and fun for all joggers. Mags also used social media to promote the event to other runners who might be interested in joining us.
On the morning of the 31st May we all turned up at Pitreavie Playing fields not knowing how many to expect but to our delight there well over 30 people waiting to run from individuals to local running groups.
Ben introduced his marathon and explained what he was doing and why then we all set about running. The run was split into 4 sections so Ben could have breaks and take on food and water, this also gave him the chance to meet and chat to the people who had come out to run and support him.
Safe to say that Ben thanked everyone for an enjoyable day and commented he had really enjoyed his time with Jog Scotland Dunfermline and all the other runners.
This event was a huge success for Ben and for Jog Scotland Dunfermline giving the group an opportunity to be involved in such a large national and hopefully a world record running event.
We would like to thank everyone involved in making this a great event and for the £120 raised for the two charities Ben supports. We would also like to thank Ben for the opportunity to run with him and wish him every success for his future.