Bedfordshire runner takes on festive cancer charity challenge in memory of his mother

A well-known Christmas carol is the inspiration behind an endurance athlete's 12-day marathon challenge, dreamt up as a thank you to the specialist cancer unit that cared for his mum before she died.

26-year-old William Goodge, from Ampthill, has already run almost 1,500 miles to raise money for causes including Macmillan Cancer Support and the Macmillan Primrose Unit at Bedford Hospital, where his mum Amanda was treated.

And he will notch up another 314 miles when he completes his 12 Marathons of Christmas between now and Christmas Day – with his final run taking place in Cape Town in South Africa.

For the past two years, the rugby player-turned model has spent Christmas Day pounding the streets around his home as a way of coping with the loss of his mum, who died aged just 53 after being diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma for the third time.

His Christmas Day marathon has become a way of giving meaning to one of the most difficult days of the year, which for him, is synonymous with his mum.

He said: “Mum is Christmas. She would wrap the presents, do the dinner, decorate the tree, host the family.

"Ever since she passed away, I’ve run a marathon every year on Christmas Day and it has become a necessity - partly because I’m trying to forget it all and partly because I’m trying to make it mean something.”

William had set his sights on running 48 marathons in 30 European countries this year, but when coronavirus travel restrictions put paid to this, he wasn’t disheartened. Instead, he decided to up the ante for his Christmas fundraising and turn one marathon into a dozen, with a goal of raising £12,000 for Macmillan.

As a former rugby player for Ampthill RUFC and now a seasoned runner, the former Redbourne Upper School pupil feels physically well-prepared for a 12-day challenge.

Mentally, he approaches every challenge with the dogged determination that comes from seeing what his mum had to deal with.

He said: “A lot of it comes from the strength of seeing what my mum and people with cancer have to go through, which makes any suffering or pain I feel pale in significance.”

William may well spot a partridge or two on the multiple routes he’s mapped out around Bedford, but is more likely to spot a swan on day six of his running tour, when he jogs along the Serpentine at Hyde Park, or even a giraffe on day seven, when he loops round Regent’s Park.

And once he’s done that, he’ll board a plane to South Africa to complete the final 26.2mile stretch in Cape Town - the last place he spent a family holiday with his mum.

To donate to William’s 12 Marathons of Christmas challenge, visit here