A MAN from South Petherton has run eight miles a day for 1,203 days.

In 2022, Stephen Carp pledged to run a half marathon over 47 days every day throughout lent.

Stephen has now exceeded a total distance of over 9,600 miles as of yesterday (Friday, April 14).

On Sunday, March 26, Stephen also ran the Yeovil Half Marathon.

Stephen will be running the Dorset Ooser Marathon tomorrow (Sunday, April 16).

While Stephen may enjoy running, there is also another reason for tackling these feats - to raise money for Speech and Language UK. 

The charity aims to support the 1.7 million children who struggle with talking and understanding words.

When speaking to Speech and Language UK, Simon says: "My daughter, Kya-Onawa, has been diagnosed with a severe speech disorder and social anxiety, she has had a tough time of it in her first six years and during the pandemic we were looking for support when Speech and Language UK were recommended to us. 

"I wanted to run for Speech and language UK as I want to make a difference. On my website I have the tagline ‘Start where you are, use what you have, do what you can’. Through my running I want to help raise awareness of children who need support with their talking and understanding words."

Speaking further about his plans to run the London Marathon and The Welsh 3,000, Stephen says: "The Welsh 3000s is a classic hiking (in my case running) route in Snowdonia National Park. It connects 15 mountain peaks, each over 3,000ft (914m). The challenge starts at 4am and runs until 9pm, you have 17 hours to cover the three mountain ranges involved and reach the summit of all 15 peaks, including Snowdonia."

Jane Harris, Speech and Language UK chief executive, adds: “Right now, at least 1.7 million children have challenges with talking and understanding words across the UK.

"We are incredibly grateful to Stephen for running the TCS London Marathon in aid of Speech and Language UK and for raising awareness to ensure that every child can face the future with confidence.” 

To learn more about the charity and how you can get involved, please visit the Speech and Language UK website.