Friend of Mark Topham runs seven marathons in a week in his memory

A local businessman has run seven marathons in seven days in memory of his best friend who took his own life.

Darren Clancy is a director of SPC Sheet Metal Ltd in Littleborough and raised £8,500 for the charity CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably).

The 36-year-old was inspired by the death of one of his best friends Mark Topham, in November 2019, and decided to combine his love of running with doing something positive in his memory.

Darren explained: “Mark was my best mate from the age of five. When he took his own life it was really tough and I resolved to raise some money for CALM because I wanted something good to come out of the tragedy.

“Mark would have thought I was absolutely mad for running seven marathons in successive days but he would have it appreciated it.”

 

 

Although a keen runner Darren only resolved to run seven marathons in seven days at the last minute after being challenged by a friend.

“The idea came from a mate,” he said. “I told him if he put £20 down I would run a marathon but decided to run seven in seven days despite the fact I’d never run a marathon before! There was no training involved. I decided on the Sunday to do it and started on the Monday.”

Darren ran mainly around Littleborough, starting at either 6am or 11am and running the 26.2 miles distance in an average time of 4 hours 45 minutes. In total he ran 183.2 miles.

“The first marathon was the hardest because I went up Saddleworth Moor but I quickly Iearnt my lesson from my mistake and stuck to the flats after that,” he said.

“The hardest part was the mental battle. Every day I would get back, have an ice bath and realise at about 6pm I’d have to go again in the morning.

“Getting up on the hills helped to clear my mind and it made me realise that running makes me feel better.”

Darren originally set out to raise £2,000 for CALM but ended up raising £7,403, which was increased to around £8,500 with gift aid contributions.

Mark Topham’s brother Mike described Darren as a ‘hero’.

“I can’t believe Darren’s physical and emotional strength to be able to do it,” said Mike. “He’s a hero. It’s testimony to Darren and Mark’s friendship.”

Mike said his brother’s death highlighted the problem of suicide in young men.

“Mark was a unique man,” said his brother. “He was the most loyal man you could ever meet. We never really got to the bottom of what happened. He was diagnosed at the age of 35 with ADHD which answered a lot of questions. He had the most beautiful smile that could light up any room. You didn’t see his demons.”

If you would like to make a donation to CALM you can do so here:

• www.justgiving.com/fundraising/darren-clancy1