Alex, 34, is a husband and Dad of two young children and lives and works in Brighton. He is no stranger to the marathon, having run 11 marathons previously, including Brighton three times.
However, this time it means much more to him. After his mum was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer last year, he wanted to do something significant to support her.
"Having run Brighton three times before, I wanted to make this event unique. Inspired by runners who have completed the London Marathon in reverse overnight the night before the ‘real’ London Marathon, I thought it would be a challenge to attempt to run the Brighton course in reverse first, then rest briefly before running it again in the official direction—something I don't believe anyone has done before" says Alex.
Very sadly, at the end of February, Alex's Mum sadly lost her battle with cancer. He has a tattoo on his arm, which is scripture in his Mum’s handwriting – it reads ‘my love forever & back’ - and has been a great source of comfort to look down on when his training has been hard.
However, this challenge alone is not enough for Alex. In May, he will be running the Thames Path 100, an 100 mile race from London to Oxford).
"This race is particularly meaningful as the route passes through places within Oxfordshire where my mum grew up, where lots of my extended family still live and finishes close to where my sister and I were born in Oxford" says Alex.
Then on June 7th – 8th he will be taking on Endure24, aiming to complete 100+ miles in 24 hours run by Threshold Sports where Alex works.
Endure24 is a relay race where you have 24 hours to rack up as many laps of the stunning 8km trail as you can, with events taking place in Reading and Leeds this summer. To find out more about Endure24 and to enter yourself either as a solo runner or in a relay team of up to 12, visit: www.endure24.co.uk
Alex has said "Coming just five weeks after the 100-mile race, it adds another level of difficulty to my Endure24 challenge and will be a fitting way to finish my challenge – surrounded by my colleagues and family."
By stacking these three events across three months, I had the intentions of creating a physically and mentally demanding challenge that I hoped would maximise impact and fundraising for Pancreatic Cancer UK.
Alex, together with his sister, who is running the London Marathon, has already raised nearly £15,000 for Pancreatic Cancer UK and is hoping to raise awareness of his unique take on the Brighton Marathon this week to increase this total even further.
To donate to Alex's fundraising page visit: