Running 100 miles for The Christie

Inspirational Tameside athlete Richard Bradbury recently tackled his toughest challenge yet. 

Last month, the 54-year-old took part in the gruelling 100-mile Chester ultramarathon, finishing in an impressive 31 hours and 40 minutes, all while raising vital funds for The Christie.  

The fundraising hero completed the feat at the second attempt after falling agonisingly short of the finish at last years’ South Downs Way ultra, when injury forced him to withdraw with just 22 miles of the 100 to go. 

But that still wasn’t enough for Richard, who also took on the Belfast Marathon just two weeks later.  

 This stellar achievement comes 12 months after the man from Audenshaw tackled the mammoth task of running five marathons in the space of just four weeks, to raise yet more funds for a charity close to his heart. 

Since losing his brother Tim, and latterly his father, Richard has been on a fundraising mission, with this year’s endeavours taking the overall total to an astonishing £14,000. 

And the 54-year-old is showing no signs of slowing down any time soon, having already signed up for another 50-mile event in 2027, as well as this year’s Tour 2026. 

“I had the usual, ‘never again’ feeling during the race,” admitted the endurance specialist following the event. 

 “I was partly looking forward to it, but partly dreading it because I knew what was coming. 

“But this year’s ultra was a bit better, with it being more local, and I was determined to cover the 100 miles no matter what. 

“I started to worry about 17 miles in as my legs weren’t feeling great, so I had to try and pace myself better, but I still ended up having plenty of time to finish. 

“I actually ended up doing a total of 104 miles, because I went off track a couple of times, so I pretty much did four marathons back-to-back.” 

Donations to The Christie are still being taken via Richard’s just giving page, to donate, visit the link below: https://www.justgiving.com/page/richard-bradbury-2026