Seven marathons teen aims to inspire youngsters

A 19-year-old man said he hoped his achievement of completing seven marathons in seven days would inspire other young people to take up running.

Billy Nunn, from South Benfleet in Essex, completed his challenge at Brighton Marathon on Sunday after clocking up more than 250km (155 miles) in the previous six days on routes around Southend-on-Sea.

He took up running four years ago after a youth worker suggested it might help him release stress, and has been raising money for charity UK Youth with his challenge.

"Hopefully my story can inspire other young people to get into running and fundraise for such a great cause," Nunn said.

"Over the past year, there have been some cuts to youth services and they've played such an important role for me and millions of others," he told BBC Essex's Ben Fryer.

"I did the London Marathon for UK Youth last year, but I felt my message [about the importance of youth services] hadn't been delivered," he said.

"I thought maybe if I did seven, I'd get somewhere."

UK Youth describes itself as "the UK's leading youth work charity with a vision that all young people are equipped to thrive and empowered to contribute at every stage of their lives".

Nunn said his friends and family "initially thought I was insane" but realised he was serious about the challenge because of the training he did which was "probably harder than the seven marathons".

"I'd go to uni and then come home from the train, have dinner, then go out and do a half marathon pretty much every single day," he said.

Nunn reflected on how the experience of running in Brighton's event alongside about 14,000 participants was filled with "so much more adrenaline" than his solo runs in the previous six days.

"I think that's what kind of got me through that last marathon — the buzz and all the other runners, hearing their stories," he said.

Other people "couldn't believe what I was doing, they were just amazed", he said.

Nunn said that after thorough research, he believed himself to be the youngest person in the UK to have run seven consecutive marathons in seven days.

"I really hope that this serves as an opportunity for young people to look and think 'OK, it's a really big challenge, but how do I take the steps to do something like that?'," he said.

"It's those little things that can really spark change and spark that kind of fire in young people."

UK Youth CEO Rosie Ferguson said: "We are so proud of Billy and his incredible achievement.

"Our mission is to widen the reach and deepen the impact of youth work and outdoor learning, so more young people like Billy can develop their confidence, improve their wellbeing and feel ownership of their future.

"The funds he's raised will not only make a real difference but will be an inspiration to so many others."

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