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.
Location for new Manchester United stadium announced after club secures land for the build
Danny Jones
The location for Manchester United’s brand-new stadium has been officially revealed just over a fortnight on from the football club securing the land after more than a year of disputes.
Man United’s ‘New Trafford’ is set to be a state-of-the-art sporting ground with a roughly 100,000-seater capacity, not only becoming the largest in the UK but rivalling all other industry-leading arenas around the world.
While there’s been plenty of speculation about funding for the redevelopment, the proposed designs, and the aforementioned plot for the massive project, serious forward momentum can finally begin now that the latter has been resolved.
That being said, the INEOS ownership group, board of executives and partnered Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) have now confirmed where exactly the site for Old Trafford 2.0 will be situated, not to mention some new CGIs.
Put in the simplest terms, the work will be centred around the Wharfside area, with the native council and Freightliner both having, at long last, greenlit the plans in principle.
The Old Trafford Regeneration Mayoral Development Corporation (OTRMDC) and dedicated Taskforce – on which Mayor and seemingly soon-to-be Prime Minister Andy Burnham has served since its inception – are set to create a fresh ‘Stadium District’ across the 150 hectares of space in Stretford.
Revolving not only around the current Metrolink tram stop and other accessible Bee Network routes, but sitting approximately just 350 metres North of the existing ‘Theatre of Dreams’, the blueprints go far beyond just creating newer and bigger stands that are easily reachable.
As per an official MUFC statement, “the vision is for a diverse neighbourhood creating 48,000 local jobs and 15,000 new homes, with the new stadium as the catalyst. Together, the mixed-use developments across 150 hectares have the potential to offer a £7.3bn-per-annum boost to the UK economy.”
Promising to maintain key aspects of nearby heritage, traditions and matchday rituals, be a walk from Pomona to a favourite food truck, or supporters making their way down the Quays and the River Irwell, they’ve even put together a video of what they hope this next chapter for Trafford will look like.
Safe to say, the GMCA, United and everyone involved have pretty ambitious ideas when it comes to a fresh era for the borough and the surrounding section of Stretford and bordering Salford.
Local Council Leader Tom Ross, Leader of Trafford Council, said of this most recent update: “We are delighted to introduce the masterplan which starts a long journey to piece together what could happen where, to bring this world-class cultural and sporting destination to life.
“We want to create a great place to be, not just on matchdays but every day – and we’re looking for as many residents and businesses as possible to help us to shape this vision, through our forthcoming consultation process.
“Wharfside will become a network of attractive neighbourhoods in which to live, work, wander, explore, relax with family, enjoy nature and wildlife, meet friends, eat out, have a drink, shop and be entertained.”
He goes on to add that besides the obvious additions to the matchday experience, this will effectively become the city region’s latest neighbourhood, delivering new parks and waterside spaces, housing including affordable options, and even new health and educational facilities.
Twinned with the obvious transport links and proximity to other key parts of Greater Manchester, this could be one of the biggest overhauls the North West has seen in decades; you can see more down below. What do you make of it all?
Our proposed new home will sit at the heart of a new stadium district ❤️🏟️
Featured Images — Publicity pictures via Manchester United Football Club
Sport
Prime Minister set to announce extra bank holiday if England win the 2026 World Cup
Danny Jones
Prime Minister Keir Starmer is reportedly set to announce an extra bank holiday if England win the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
What a way to sign off from the highest office in Great Britain, eh?
According to Sky News journalist Beth Rigby, the outgoing PM is expected to reveal an extended period of celebration across the country if/should/WHEN (you’ve got to believe) the Three Lions reach this year’s World Cup final and lift the biggest prize in global sport.
Starmer may be gearing up to leave No. 10 Downing Street soon, but he can certainly earn himself a few more points in the pros column should this familiar rumour come to fruition.
The PM is planning to announce a bank holiday if England win the World Cup. Final is the day before handover of power day on July 20. PM expected to confirm bank holiday if England reach the final, with the likely date set to be July 24. Dare to dream!
As Rigby states in her post on X, this decision would fall just before the transition in leadership, with Greater Manchester’s own Mayor Andy Burnham all but confirmed at the head of the table already within the Labour Party cabinet.
Regarding the still only potential bank holiday – Thomas Tuchel’s side still need to make it through the quarter-final and the semis, remember – the Sky reporter states that the following Friday, 24 July, is the most likely date.
Understandably, plenty on social media are already rejoicing over the prospect, but some aren’t content with waiting a week to carry on the post-trophy lift party, with many arguing that it should be the Monday morning immediately after the final next Sunday (19/2/2026).
Let’s be honest, there’ll be lots of people pulling sickies regardless of whether or not their bosses are left to grant a day off.
Many have already rightly argued that such decisions should have been made in the past after the Lionesses won not just one but two back-to-back European Championships; we’re willing to forgive and move on if the powers that be make it happen this time.
Starmer recently said that despite always believing England will “go all the way”, he didn’t want to jinx anything, simply telling the BBC’s Chris Mason: “Ask me again if we make the final.”
Either way, the general jubilation should England end 60 ‘years of hurt’ will be nothing short of colossal, and it would only feel right given the sheer gravity of the would-be achievement.
We’re even getting excited merely by the idea of some additional and, at present, strictly hypothetical pre- and post-match entertainment…
Danny Jones -
26th February 2024 
