South Tyneside charity runner completes 520km challenge in 30 days in memory of his uncle
“The run started off as short distances, such as along the sea front at South Shields and doing laps of Bents Park, and it then got longer.”
A South Tyneside running enthusiast let his feet hit the street to cover 520km during a 30-day super challenge to honour his late uncle.
Robbie Gray, 26, never left the borough while running the equivalent of 12 marathons over all but one day in August.
The running coach, from Hebburn, overcame the pain barrier – and is still recovering from shin splints – after completing circuits at different locations.
His exploits aimed to keep alive the loving spirit of Clive Wilson, 48, a former footballer and popular borough figure who died suddenly from sepsis in May 2018.
His passing led to the founding of an annual memorial football match at the Harton Welfare ground in South Shields, where he played and was groundsman.
The Clive Wilson Memorial Trust was also established to financially support young sports people and charities.
Robbie intended to run 1.8 kilometres on August 1 and add an additional kilometre on each of the following 30 days to the end of the month.
But with the fundraising football match falling on August 30 and shortening his challenge by a day, he had to recalculate.
To factor in the extra 31 kilometres, he added one kilometre each day, before finishing with a near 33-km run on match day.
During the home stretch, he was joined by his brother Rhys, 28, a marine engineer, and other friends and supporters.
In a poignant tribute, they ran past places associated with Clive, including the Green Lane chippy where he worked, the site of a pub where he drank and former homes, ending at the welfare ground.
Robbie, who runs the running club One Step Forward, believes Clive would have been proud, positive and touched by his efforts.
He said: “I remember my Uncle Clive as being a right laugh, he would have us in stitches because he was just a very funny man, he had humour that was for everyone.
“I saw the challenge mentioned on Instagram and it was something I’d thought about for a while.
“I recently started my running club and it’s going very well but my commitments to it meant I couldn’t leave the area.
“I also hadn’t done much running since setting the club up – it’s a bit like working as a chef, then going home every day and having to cook.
“The run started off as short distances, such as along the sea front at South Shields and doing laps of Bents Park, and it then got longer.
“I’d also go around Hebburn and also Fellgate, and on the last day, I had to add a little extra in to reach the target and ended up doing just less than 33 kilometres.”
Robbie added: “On that day, I started in Hebburn and ran to the Port of Tyne, and back to Hebburn, which was where Rhys joined me.
“We then ran to the Lakeside pub at Jarrow and did the route of the Great North Run, to near Harton Welfare.
“It was then that others joined us, having asked them to come with us in running past the places associated with my uncle.
“I haven’t run since and for the first two days, I couldn’t walk and I’m still recovering from bad shin splints.
“It was a hard thing to do and I’m not sure I’d do it again, but I'm really pleased I did. I have another challenge in mind for next year.
“I'm happy I raised £700 from my run and that another £1,750 was collected from the match and other events.”