Bolton fan Paul Holliday to run charity marathon in front room

Keen runner Paul, a lifelong Bolton fan, is not letting self-isolation stop him from raising money for charity and intends to cover the 42.2km distance by jogging up and down his living room.

From 9am on Wednesday (April 8) his every step, turn and twist will be beamed live on Twitter in a race he hopes can be completed inside five hours.

Paul had been due to run a trio of marathons for High Five – the Chorley-based charity which helps provide activities for disabled children and their families. But when the Bolton, Manchester and Blackpool events were cancelled he was determined not to waste his hard work in training.

“I heard about a guy in Spain who ran a marathon on his balcony but I don’t have one of those,” he told The Bolton News. “I haven’t actually got a back garden, more of a yard.

“So I sat there thinking about it in my living room, looked around and thought ‘why don’t I try it in here?’ “I put the idea up on Twitter, half-jokingly saying I’d live stream it if the post got 100 likes, and thanks to certain people it did in next to no time.

“So now you can spend your Wednesday watching me jog up and down if that floats your boat!”

Paul has already tried a few miles in bare feet, a trial he abandoned for “burn related injuries” and also plans to cover the distance outdoors at least once before attempting his unique challenge.

Breaking it down, he will be covering around 55,000 steps – which equates to about 4,500 laps of his living room and some considerable wear and tear on the carpet.

“I don’t think Eliud Kipchoge will need to worry,” he said of the Kenyan world record holder, who managed just over 26 miles in two hours and one minute in 2018.

“It will be slow and I think my main problem will be all the turning. I think I’ll be pretty dizzy and nauseous. But I’m intending to mix up the way I run, forward, backward, side-to-side, so I can combat that a bit.”

Some may see four walls as a disadvantage to jogging a marathon – but not Paul, who is currently furloughed by the club.

“If I need a toilet break I don’t need to find a bush,” he said. “I’ll limp up the stairs.

“And my wife is making sure the dining room table doubles up as a water station, so I’m doing it in luxury.”

Paul rekindled his love for long-distance running a couple of years ago and has been aided this time around by switching to a vegan diet – a decision made shortly after Wanderers were hammered 6-0 by Hull City on New Year’s Day 2019.

“Plant power has done it for me,” he laughed. “I’d lost a lot of weight before I went vegan but it has definitely taken my running to the next level. I’m not getting any injuries and I’ve kept the weight off.

“The only thing I’m really concerned about is that it will use muscles I’m maybe not used to using.

“I can run miles and think I’m fit as a fiddle but if you asked me to play football tomorrow I’d be aching. So I think after all the twisting and tuning I’ll be sore on Thursday.”

Paul has already raised £650 online and has been supported by a number of players, ex-players and Wanderers staff.

All the money will go to High Five, the charity his wife Nanette helped found several years ago.

“The charity does really important work,” he said. “My daughter Isobella has Down’s Syndrome and there have been times when, as a family, we have felt really isolated. It can be tough to get out places and you can feel a bit alone.

“But High Five is helping about 100 families in the Lancashire area to go out on trips together, enjoy themselves and get to places they wouldn’t normally get to go.”

To donate visit paulholliday.co.uk – and tune in on Twitter via @_paulholliday from 9am on Wednesday. But don’t judge his living room carpet.