Worthing athlete dubbed 'sports personality of the year' by charity he is running London Marathon to support

Paul Durrant, from Worthing, is taking part in his third London Marathon on April 21 and is running for The Herts MS Therapy Centre – along with good friend and fellow sports-fan Darren Winter.

“We often run together socially and also for our club the Worthing Striders,” Paul explained. “But as Darren runs marathons all the time it’s really hard work for me to keep up!

“I’ve always wanted to run the London Marathon again and I’m thrilled to have the opportunity of running for the Herts MS Therapy Centre.”

Paul, who works in sports and events at Plumpton College, near Lewes in East Sussex, might be being modest. As well as two London Marathons, he’s completed marathons in Brighton, at the Three Forts Trail marathon, Manchester, the Three Peaks and two Yorkshire Dales marathons.

Paul said: “One of my favourite events is the London Classics. I received a medal for running the London Marathon, cycling the 100 mile Ride London cycle route and swimming two miles in the Serpentine in London’s Hyde Park. I do have to stress that these events were at different times of my life!

“I’ve also done my fair share of half-marathons, including Budapest, Valencia, Verona, Brighton, Worthing, Chichester and Kingston upon Thames.

“The 1997 London Marathon was my favourite as I achieved my best time of three hours and 30 minutes and the atmosphere was electrifying.”

Paul certainly likes a challenge, as he explains: “I’ve done two Ironbourne middle distance triathlons and I’ve also completed the 4*4* 48 challenge with Darren Winter. We ran four miles every four hours for 48 hours!

“We were supported by our fellow running friends on most of the runs, except those which started at midnight and 4am! This was a great achievement and apart from causing sleep deprivation was great fun.

“Probably my biggest challenge was in 1997 when a few months into my year out travelling around the world I was run over by a car in Australia. I sustained severe injuries. Both my knee caps were broken, I had a compound fracture to my left femur and also footdrop.

“It took me a year to learn to walk but I was determined to get back to running again. I count myself very lucky that I survived the accident and was able to resume my sporting life.”

Paul also loves Spain, having lived and worked in Valencia for ten years.

“I also love the north west of the country and visited Galicia last summer. I also went hiking in the nearby Los Picos de Europa mountains.”

The Herts MS Therapy Centre said Paul – after completing marathons, half-marathons and triathlons and competing in tennis, table-tennis, badminton, hiking, cycling and skiing – ‘is definitely our sports personality of the year’.

If you would like to run and raise money for the centre, there are a few places available to take part in the 2024 London Marathon on Sunday, April 21. Please contact Paul Bishop on 07973 237162.

Hertfordshire Multiple Sclerosis Therapy Centre is a Letchworth-based charity that has been providing Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy for the past 35 years. It’s a complementary therapy that can help some people with a wide range of conditions, including MS, cancer, Parkinson’s disease, chronic fatigue syndrome, ME, fibromyalgia, sleep apnoea, leg ulcers and soft tissue sports injuries. It has also helped people recover from Long Covid.

For more information on Herts MS Therapy Centre, call: 01462 684214, or e-mail: [email protected].