Mansfield dad taking on huge ultramarathon challenge for children's hospice and the Red Cross

Nathan Towers is running 40 ultramarathons in 40 days in the lead up to his 40th birthday in April.

And it was complications with his son Jack’s birth that inspired him to do it.

Jack was born at City Hospital in Nottingham and had a birth complication called shoulder dystocia, which led to him being without oxygen and having to be resuscitated.

Holly, Nathan’s wife, said: “Fortunately for us, in the end, Jack came out okay, but there was quite a high chance he may have had cerebral palsy or a long-term disability.

“It was one of those moments where it just hit us that it’s quite hard for parents, or anyone who has to go through something like this with a child’s illness or condition.

"Rainbows is very good for that sort of care which is why we wanted to help them and and we wanted to do something for the Red Cross too because of the ongoing situation in Ukraine."

Nathan, who is originally from Mansfield but now lives in Bulwell, started running about six years ago and has done ultramarathons in the past.

He has also done a number of other charity events in the past, including the highest bungee jump in the world in Macau and a skydive in Dubai, as well as a number of marathons and half-marathons to raise money for charity.

Holly said: “He’s never done anything quite this crazy before but he started running and quite quickly worked himself up to ironman level but because of the pandemic, events he’s tried to book himself in for over the last couple of years have been cancelled.

"So he decided to go straight for the full thing this year for his 40th.

"The Great North Run was the first half-marathon he did and then the Mablethorpe Marathon was his first full marathon and then gradually over time worked his way up.

"He’s done a lot of running around Bestwood Park in training for this, but does the majority of running on a treadmill at home, getting up at 5am to do the majority before starting work and then breaks it up throughout the day so he can help with childcare when he can and still bath and read to Jack most nights.”

Coping mechanism

Running also helps Nathan’s mental health too.

Holly said: “We were trying for a baby for a long time, went through fertility treatment and nothing was working out and we went to try IVF, but were told our chances were low, but then a few months later, I got pregnant naturally.

"But both of us suffered with our mental health during this time and Nathan found endurance sports helped him cope, so he got into running and the swimming and cycling too.

"He’s done three ironmans so far, the Nottingham one, one in Italy and one in Denmark.”

Nathan,, a senior design engineer for online business RavenTrack, started his latest challenge on February 9 and is due to complete his 40th run on March 20.

To support his cause and donate, visit his fundraising page bit.ly/3Cyz5Dx

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