A Southampton man ran the full length of 2020’s London Marathon on a treadmill at his home in order to raise money for charity.
Ben Stimpson, a Southampton resident currently working in Saudi Arabia, was signed up to participate in the London Marathon which was scheduled to take place in late April until it got postponed until October because of the coronavirus crisis.
However, Stimpson didn’t let the cancellation stop him from running the entire 26.2 miles completing the marathon on a treadmill from his home in Saudi Arabia, while raising over £3,000 for disability equality charity, Scope.
Scope was the chosen charity that the funds would be given to after Ben was inspired by his close family friend, Matt, who has Cerebral Palsy.
He said:
One of the proudest moments of my life was seeing our close family friend, Matt Cooper, walk down the aisle as our pageboy for the first time in front of over 100 people. Matthew has cerebral palsy but this did not stop him overcoming his fears for our wedding day. Four years on and he’s winning medals for Team GB at the U19 World Championships.
He went on to say, ‘One of the main reasons I’ve put in endless hours of training for the marathon is because of the aspiration I have for this young man. Helping to raise funds for disabled people is one of the most rewarding things I’ve done so far and thank you to everyone who has helped to support so far‘.
The treadmill marathon was live streamed on Facebook, and over £3,000 has been donated so far, which will all be handed over to Scope.
To donate to the fundraising page, visit: https://justgiving.com/fundraising/Ben-Stimson.
