This week we have some really good news about one of our previous Running Tales guests and the charity he and his family run.

Back in October 2020, we spoke to Wayne Chalmers about Team Daisy, a charity formed after his baby daughter Daisy sadly passed away just an hour after being born.

It has now been revealed that Northampton Hospital, where Daisy was born, has launched a fundraising appeal for a new bereavement suite for families who experience the devastating loss of a baby.

It is to be called The Daisy Suite in memory of Daisy Chalmers.

There is still a lot of work to be done, with tens of thousands of pounds needed to be raised, so Wayne - not always the keenest of runners - is set to pull on his trainers again.

Along with a group of friends he will be taking on the gruelling Isle of Wight Challenge in 2023 - quite the endeavour for someone who only started running to pass referee fitness tests.

Running Tales spoke to Wayne about Daisy, his fundraising and his love/hate relationship with running... 

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To sponsor Wayne and Team Daisy to run the Isle of Wight Challenge, click here: https://northamptonshirehealthcharity.enthuse.com/pf/team-daisy

To donate to Northampton Hospital's fundraising efforts towards the Daisy Suite, click here: https://northamptonshirehealthcharity.co.uk/appeals/daisy-suite-appeal-ngh/

The music in this podcast is:"Fearless First" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

After suffering a serious injury to his ankle, Damian Lai's fitness got progressively worse.

Overweight, eating the wrong things and constantly out of breath he was given a serious warning when he nearly died after contracting a virus and ending up in hospital.

Realising things had to change, Damian joined a beginners' running group at his local club - and his life changed.

This weekend he completed his 49th marathon, including finishing London five times - the last of which saw him narrowly miss out on a World Record for the fastest ice cream!

He is currently running to raise funds for Ukraine, while helping new runners complete the same course that started him off on his journey.

This is his running tale... 

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Visit Running Tales on Substack: ⁠https://runningtales.substack.com⁠

Search for Running Tales wherever you listen to podcasts to find our audio version of episodes.

You can sponsor Damian for his 1,000 mile challenge to raise money for the Disasters Emergency Committee to help people in Ukraine at this link: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Damian-Lai

The music in this podcast is:"Fearless First" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Simon Hollis has run a lot of miles - but it’s debatable whether or not he's spent more time organising other people to run even more!

As the man in charge at Go Beyond Challenge, he is Race Director of a host of events including Northampton Half Marathon and the Shires and Spires Ultra Marathon.

Simon spoke to Running Tales about the challenges - and rewards - organising such large scale events required, as well as his own running story which includes completing several of the world's most gruelling ultras, not least the Marathon des Sables.

And for those of you who love the Northampton Half Marathon, we also learnt a little bit more about the soon to be revealed, new course for what, in years to come, will be the 'Great Northampton Half'...

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Visit Running Tales on Substack: ⁠https://runningtales.substack.com⁠

Search for Running Tales wherever you listen to podcasts to find our audio version of episodes.

The music in this podcast is:"Fearless First" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Anyone who knows anything about running knows about the brilliant Couch to 5k app, but Patrick Howard went more than one step further when going from Couch to Ultra in just 18 months.

Struggling with his weight, a former heavy smoker and looking to boost his confidence, Patrick started running to get fit.

His first 1.8 mile jog round the block was a painful run/walk, but he knew straight away he loved running.

He soon graduated to parkrun and then half-marathons, before completing the Milton Keynes Marathon and quickly announcing he was taking the huge step of moving on to a 40 mile Ultra - he did it of course!

Running Tales talked to Patrick about why he loves running, how it has transformed his life and how an Ironman Triathlon is his new goal... 

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Visit Running Tales on Substack: ⁠https://runningtales.substack.com⁠

Search for Running Tales wherever you listen to podcasts to find our audio version of episodes.

The music in this podcast is:"Fearless First" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Running has been a double-edged sword for David Swales.

He first took up the sport in an attempt to counter type 2 diabetes, but it was after sprinting to the finish in a 10km race that he had his stroke.

It has left him facing daily challenges, all of which are chronicled with striking honesty in his blog, 'It doesn't get easier, you just get stronger'.

David has a fascinating relationship with his stroke, refusing to beaten by it and using it to achieve faster times and longer distances, including completing the actual London Marathon once and its virtual version twice - including on Sunday.

Running Tales spoke to him about everything from why he doesn't set out to be an inspiration to knowing every tree stump and trip hazard on his home parkrun...

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Visit Running Tales on Substack: ⁠https://runningtales.substack.com⁠

Search for Running Tales wherever you listen to podcasts to find our audio version of episodes.

The music in this podcast is:"Fearless First" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Running Tales spoke to Mark Kennedy way back in Series One, Episode Three about how he has benefitted from running after suffering a serious brain injury while on the holiday of a lifetime.

Since then Mark has gone on to complete an ambition 14 years in the making - to become a member of the 100 Half Marathons club.To celebrate he has written a book about his incredible achievement.

‘Half Man, Half Marathon' explores Mark's journey, as well as acting as a self-help journal and looking into the stories and experiences of fellow runners.

Running Tales spoke to Mark about why he wanted to run so many half-marathons, the mental health benefits of running and being given a massive bag of salt as part of a race goodie bag... 

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Visit Running Tales on Substack: ⁠https://runningtales.substack.com⁠

Search for Running Tales wherever you listen to podcasts to find our audio version of episodes.

‘Half Man, Half Marathon' is set to be published in early October, and will be available from Amazon as well as the Kennedy Authors website

The music in this podcast is:"Fearless First" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Nikki Page founded Love London Running Tours to offer sightseers the chance to see the capital city in a unique and fun way.

The fledging business catered for all abilities and gave people opportunities to see London and get fit at the same time.

Fitness instructor Nikki even took in running city tours in places all over the world, including Melbourne and Kuala Lumpur.

Sadly, Love London Running Tours had to be put on hold due to the outbreak of Covid - and then, far more happily, when she became pregnant.

Running Tales spoke to Nikki about postnatal running, marathon training - and how catching Covid herself has put back her London Marathon plans - as well as the future of her running tours...

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Visit Running Tales on Substack: ⁠https://runningtales.substack.com⁠

Search for Running Tales wherever you listen to podcasts to find our audio version of episodes.

The music in this podcast is:"Fearless First" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

When Ross Jeavons ran the London Marathon in three hours seven minutes last year, his over-riding feeling was disappointment.

Despite not discovering running until a few years ago, Ross had found an affinity with it - leading to him aiming to beat the three hour barrier.

But he hit the wall in the last few miles and was left crestfallen despite achieving a personal best.

Fast forward almost a year and Ross has completely different reasons for running the 2022 version of the marathon.

It was something, as a father of two children under two, he wasn't planning to take on - especially when his son, Corey, was born in February with Oesophageal Atresia and Tracheo-Oesophageal Fistula, a condition which means his food pipe was not connected to his stomach - and he was and is unable to swallow.

Running drifted from Ross' mind and he hadn't laced up his trainers for six months when he suddenly spotted a chance to take on London again in aid of the charity TOFS.

It was challenge - and a chance to raise vital funds - that he wasn't able to resist, even though a lack of training and time suggested things won't be easy... 

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Visit Running Tales on Substack: ⁠https://runningtales.substack.com⁠

Search for Running Tales wherever you listen to podcasts to find our audio version of episodes.

To sponsor Ross to run the London Marathon in aid of TOFS visit https://www.peoplesfundraising.com/fundraising/rossfortofs

The music in this podcast is:"Fearless First" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

This week Running Tales was live at the Bedford Festival of Running to speak to Dannii Levi.

You may remember Dannii's story from Running Tales Series One, Episode 47 where Michelle spoke to her about dealing with Raynaud's disease, a condition which results in reduced blood flow to people's fingers and toes - and can make running impossible.

On Sunday, though, we spoke to Dannii after she completed the Bedford Half Marathon about her experience as a deaf runner.

After contracting Covid, Dannii's hearing became impaired, prompting her to run the race in aid of hearing dogs for deaf people. 

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Visit Running Tales on Substack: ⁠https://runningtales.substack.com⁠

Search for Running Tales wherever you listen to podcasts to find our audio version of episodes.

To sponsor Dannii for running Bedford Half Marathon in aid of hearing dogs for deaf people visit https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/dannii-levi

The music in this podcast is:"Fearless First" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

One of the most popular parts of many runners' weeks is parkrun.

The 5km event takes place up and down the country - and these days across the world - every weekend.

At it's most basic level every local parkrun is based on the efforts of a core team of volunteers, who work as event and race directors to make sure thousands of people up and down the country are able to get their running fix at 9am every Saturday.

But how do those teams work, what happens between 10.30am on Saturday when a parkrun finishes and 8.55am the following week when the next one is about to begin, and how can people become part of the magic that makes a parkun tick?

Running Tales spoke to Alastair Rapley, the event director at the ever popular Northampton parkrun, and started off by asking him what an event director is...

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Visit Running Tales on Substack: ⁠https://runningtales.substack.com⁠

Search for Running Tales wherever you listen to podcasts to find our audio version of episodes.

The music in this podcast is:"Fearless First" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/