Graham Dale will run his 16th and final London Marathon next month.
A Northamptonshire runner is set to hang up his coaches in less than a month after his 16th straight London Marathon.
Graham Dale of Silverstone first began long-distance running after giving up football and rugby when he could no longer play to the standard he wanted.
The now 52-year-old ran his first London marathon in 2006 as a “bucket list” point. He only wanted to do it once.
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Graham says he knew it was time to pass the baton on, but he will miss attending the event.
Graham says he knew it was time to pass the baton on, but he will miss attending the event.
However, after experiencing the camaraderie, Graham became addicted to the event and has run the 26.2 mile route a total of 15 times since then.
On October 3rd of this year, he will do it for the 16th – and final – time with possibly very little sleep as he has a newborn baby who will be less than two months old at the time of the race.
Graham, who now lives in Brackley, said, “I started running to calm myself down, to get away from it all and walk alone.
“I’ve always wanted to run the London Marathon, but I thought I would do it once, tick it and that would be done.
“But it’s such a humbling and amazing thing.
“You have complete strangers screaming your name and wanting you to do well. It’s really addicting. “
Graham has participated in the vote every year since 2006, but was rejected every time and had to find charity places instead.
In his first five events, he ran for five different charities so that a wide variety of people could benefit from his sponsorship money.
But in 2011 he came across SENSE – the national charity for the deaf-blind – and became involved and intrigued by the work they are doing.
Graham has been running for the same charity ever since, and his final endeavor will raise funds for SENSE as well.
If the avid runner manages to raise more than £ 1,812 this year, his grand total will rise to more than £ 38,000 over all 16 marathons.
Anything raised over £ 1,500 will be personalized by Graham. The corresponding amount will be donated to MacMillan Cancer Support.
Graham added, “I’m pretty sure I’ve done my little part for these good causes.
“I think I’ll miss it, but I’ve got a lot of injuries from my football days and you have to know when to stop.
“At 52, it’s time to give up the baton.
“I know it has to be my last, I accepted that, but it brings sadness.”
Graham says he’ll be there for the 2022 London Marathon handing out candy and cheering on other runners.
And although he is sticking to ’16 and out ‘for the time being, he is not sure whether he can stay away for good.