100 runs in 100 days!

Best foot forward . . . Tom Robinson is bidding to complete 100 10k runs in 100 days

Tom Robinson takes on tough charity challenge
A HUNDRED 10k runs in one hundred days... that’s the epic test of endurance a doting dad from Saddleworth is taking on for charity.

The very thought would make light joggers go weak at the knees, but 36-year-old Tom Robinson, from Diggle, is throwing himself into the challenge.

It’s a mission that could see the dedicated runner cover 1,000 kilometres (621 miles) in the coming months.

Currently on day nine Tom, of Diglea, aims to run at least 10km (six miles) a day for 99 consecutive days, before smashing the 100 barrier at the Bupa Great North Run on Sunday, September 18.

It’s all in the name of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, after his son Jake was diagnosed with the Type 1 condition aged just four in 2008.

“He is a happy little boy but it is a chronic condition that he will have for the rest of his life, and I’m proud to be supporting the charity,” said Tom.

“There could be times when I will be completely shattered, but the sheer determination will get me through.

“I wouldn’t have put my reputation on the line if I thought it wasn’t possible.”

Tom is up at the crack of dawn as he rises at 4.30am to tackle a route through Uppermill and Friezland.

He returns home to walk his dog and still manages to be sitting at his desk at the Royal Bank of Scotland in Manchester for 8am.

But it’s all in a days work for Tom. After all he couldn’t let his wife Carolyn outdo him. She climbed to the summit of Mont Blanc last year for the same cause.

“I couldn’t see her put me to shame, she thinks I’m crackers though.” he added.

“One thing I’m going to have to factor in is a two-week holiday in France, but I’ve already been online to plot my training routes.

“I’ve run half marathons before but this takes real commitment — I’m up for it.

“The charity is the only one actively seeking a cure for type one diabetes, so any awareness I can bring will be a real bonus.”

To sponsor him in his quest visit www.justgiving.com/100runs4jdrf .