Here in Nature Squared's home town of East Grinstead in West Sussex, something very special is taking place.  We feel it is our duty to spread the word far and wide. 

Local hero James Cooper has taken on the monumental mission of running a marathon every day this year.  That's 366 marathons in 366 days!  The leap year adding the cherry on the cake. 

Can you even imagine taking on that challenge? A commitment that, on every single day of 2024, regardless of how you feel, what the weather is doing, or what other life commitments you may have ... still, you will find the time and drive in your day to run an entire marathon. Impressive commitment.

Why would someone do such a thing?  Well, for a good cause.  James is running to raise money for The Samaritans, to provide support for people who are struggling with their mental health and feelings of distress, despair, or suicidal thoughts. So far he has completed over 230 marathons, which is an astonishing feat of mental and physical endurance and already classes him at hero status in our minds. In total raising over £40,000 for Samaritans.  His mission continues….

As James steps and smiles towards his masterpiece, he is logging his progress on social media.  We follow him on Instagram https://instagram.com/Smilingggman and look forwards to see his achievements every day on the mission, through rain and shine.

If you are interested in supporting the mission then there are some things that you can do.  A donation to the Samaritans charity would be incredible.  The link for donations is https://www.justgiving.com/page/smilinggg366.  Of course, not everyone can donate, so instead simply following James on social media and sharing his posts will help to get the message out there.  You can find out more about James and the challenge here https://linktr.ee/Smilinggg.

We wish James the best of luck with the remainder of his mission.  In the words of James himself:

Steps and smiles…. Keep smilinggg!