A man from Salford is taking on the extraordinary challenge of running 365km over the course of 365 days and eight marathons, all on behalf of The Christie.
Approaching his 36th birthday, Connor Robinson from Worsley had always had a huge desire to do something positive in his life and after his best friend suffered a loss in the family, he was determined to help in any way he could.
With that in mind, the Salfordian decided to set himself the challenge of running 365km in 365 days across the span of eight and a half marathons around Europe to raise money for The Christie Charity.
Legend.
Connor is running 365km in 365 days as part of an immense eight-and-a-half marathon challenge. (Credit: Supplied)
The initial inspiration for this challenge came from Connor’s best friend Jack Prady, whose mum Tracy was treated at The Christie Hospital here in Manchester and sadly died of bowel cancer in April 2020.
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Jack went on to set up the TP23 Foundation in memory of her and ran an incredible 252 miles, raising more than £30,000 for the beloved local charity and cancer treatment facility.
Inspired by his best mate’s accomplishment, Connor felt that he wanted to “do his bit” and help contribute to the fantastic fundraising that Jack had done. And it’s that classic thing, isn’t it? If your mate does something impressive, you can’t help but want to match.
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That being said, Robinson set himself the huge goal of taking on not just one marathon but eight — plus an extra half-marathon for good measure — all around Europe to complete the set.
Having never been a runner, the property director knew that completing even one marathon would be a challenge for him, but seeing what his friend Jack had already achieved for such a great cause and in his mother’s memory was more than enough to spur Connor on.
The two local lads putting in the graft.
Then, just 10 weeks into his 18-week training programme on 10 January this year, Connor’s own dad, Wayne Robinson, was also sadly diagnosed with a type of throat cancer.
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A non-smoker and drinker, Wayne’s cancer was unfortunately caused by the HPV virus. Having now started treatment at The Christie, receiving daily radiotherapy and chemotherapy, Connor has all the more motivation to take on the challenge.
“Whilst I am running this challenge in Jack’s mum Tracy’s memory, it is also for every single person who’s ever needed the remarkable services provided by The Christie – especially my dad”, explained Connor. “When starting this challenge, I wanted to take it across Europe and spread the name and awareness of The Christie not just throughout the North West but the whole of the UK and beyond!
“There’s probably no other family I have been closer to over the last 15+ years than the Pradys and I have seen first-hand the immediate and long-lasting impact cancer has on loved ones, but also how much needed and invaluable the treatment and care received by The Christie was.”
Connor’s friends and family will be following his journey and supporting him along the way and, like a best mate would, Jack has even vowed to run every marathon with him.
Their first marathon together will be on Sunday, 10 March in Barcelona and Connor will be documenting their journey on Instagram, @letsrunwithconnor.
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So far, Connor has raised over £3,000 just through his training runs with Jack, which is 90% of the initial target of £3600. Their eight marathons will take place in Barcelona, right here in Manchester this April; Leeds, Edinburgh, Chester, Dublin, Athens and Valencia, with the final half marathon still to be decided.
You can donate to Connor 365km in 365 days marathon fundraiser HERE and wish you all the best of luck, lads — go and smash it!
These two aren’t the only Greater Mancunians who are taking on multiple marathons on behalf of the vital NHS Foundation Trust this year.
Salford Red Devils granted another adjournment over unpaid debts
Danny Jones
Salford Red Devils have been given one more adjournment and yet another stay of execution, being given another two weeks to find the money to cover their unpaid debts.
The local rugby league side, which has been wrapped in all manner of struggles both on and off-pitch over the past year or so, reportedly needs to pay around £700,000 to HMRC alone and still owes roughly £5 million in total to various creditors.
To no surprise, regular matchgoers, neutrals and even rivals alike have expressed their continued disappointment with the club, mainly at the lack of transparency and clarity from the organisation throughout this long, drawn-out process.
This is coming from a wire fan but no club deserves to be left in the dark even longer than they already have done it’s nothing but a disgrace to the sport of rugby those owners and the court should be ashamed of themselves.
Updating fans on social media, this is all the information they have communicated at this time: “Salford Red Devils can confirm that HMRC have granted the club a two-week adjournment, providing additional time in which to secure the necessary funds.
“We would like to reassure supporters that we are working tirelessly behind the scenes to ensure a positive resolution. Further updates will be shared as soon as possible.”
It’s worth noting that the current owners have reiterated that they inheited around £3m in existing debt before they took over the club, but assurances over their own investments have still come to nothing; meanwhile, with many still waiting on wages, players and staff alike have now left.
Having been propped up by loan players and emergency loans, the team is now closer to a skeleton crew than it is an outfit capable of competing in the premier division.
Either way, the outrage remains and is only growing stronger. One user wrote on X: “A good approach by them if they was legit would be to engage and bring in The 1873 to bridge the communication black hole (they created).
“The problem with that is if they did it would expose them for what they are… Extortionists using the club as a vehicle.”
More alarm bells were raised recently when assistant coach and Krisnan Inu – who was also director of the company set up to take over the business – withdrew himself from a key position behind the scenes.
Speaking of The 1873, the outspoken supporters trust took no time at all in issuing a response of their own, adding: “The judge presiding over today’s case has adjourned by 14 days. This adjournment has dragged the uncertainty on even longer.
“Every delay makes planning for 2026 harder and keeps the club stuck in limbo when it desperately needs clarity and direction.
“The fans, the players and the future all deserve better — The 1873.”
You can see the rest of their statement in full down below, but for now, what do you make of this seemingly neverending saga, Salfordians?
Andy Aspinall issues update on Tom’s eye poke injury and calls for changes in the UFC
Danny Jones
Andy Aspinall – father of Manc martial artist Tom Aspinall – has shared a lengthy video interview on his son’s YouTube channel discussing the latest regarding his son’s eye injury.
More importantly, as a concerned parent, he’s also called for better safeguarding and/or tighter rules in the UFC regarding fouls and, in particular, eye poking.
In case you missed it, this past weekend, the Greater Manchester MMA star took on French fighter Ciryl Gane in his first title defence since being named the undisputed heavyweight champion. Unfortunately, the main event match had to be cut short after Aspinall was left unable to see following an eye poke.
Although this is an illegal move in the sport, not only could it not be proved whether it was accidental or perhaps even intentional, as some have speculated on social media, but the only outcome was for the bout to end in a no-contest. Updating fans online, Andy reiterated priorities, dubbing this “just a job”.
🚨BREAKING🚨
Tom Aspinall “𝙎𝙏𝙄𝙇𝙇 𝘾𝘼𝙉’𝙏 𝙎𝙀𝙀” out of his right eye following Ciryl Gane’s double eye poke at UFC 321, his dad Andy has revealed 😳
“His right eye, he still can't see anything.He said it's just grey.
As you can see in the main clip above, Andy says that the Atherton-born fighter still “can’t see anything” out of his right eye, describing his sight as little more than “just grey”; meanwhile, his left eye is said to be at roughly 50% vision, having struggled to get more than a few rows down on a Snellen chart.
Essentially, the short version is that after the pain of the controversial eye poke, the muscles in his eye still aren’t healed and will be going for even more eye tests, including an eye test.
However, arguably the most salient points to take away from the video were those regarding his son’s overall welfare and the safety of the sport, as it is clear that Andy was talking chiefly as an understandably worried father rather than his coach.
“For me, everything is about his health. It’s not about the fighting – that’s just what he chose to do as a job”, he says, also clarifying that he isn’t accusing Gane of any ill intent, personally, and that the referees need to have more powers when it comes to fouling.
He also reminded those watching that the Wigan native has a wife and three kids to think about, stating, “This is just a job that he’s doing at this period in time, and he’ll do another job”, before going on to add, “What [will] it take?” for the UFC to get stricter around fouls like these.
You can watch the most recent update on Tom Aspinall from his dad, Andy, in full down below.
Andy Aspinall also had plenty to say in terms of what the UFC can do to better protect fighters/improve the rules.
Andy also made a point of suggesting once again that Tom should maybe turn to boxing instead of MMA, not only because of the added safety measures but because of the bigger paydays.
Do you think the UFC needs to be more stringent when it comes to not only protecting its fighters but also the rules and punishments surrounding serious fouls, such as eye pokes?
AND, alternatively, do you think Tom Aspinall would be well-suited to a boxing ring?
In the immediate aftermath of the injury, he was the first to admit that “this is a dangerous f***ing sport”; whether or not coming this close to permanent damage has made him reconsider, only time will tell.
Danny Jones -
26th February 2024 
