Going for a long run

Adam Holland and some of the Oasis Academy pupils who joined his run in Oldham

Adam Holland is the youngest person to have run 100 marathons – and he has held the record for the fastest ten marathons run in ten days.

Surprisingly then, the marathon ultra runner admitted to pupils at Oasis Academy Oldham recently that he wasn’t always the best.
A keen sportsman at school, he played cricket, rugby and football.

His introduction to running? “My friends did it so I decided to give it a go,” he admitted.

“I was always the one at the back and I was never any good at it, but over the years – because I just carried on and on – I became the one nearer the front; then I was the one at the front as they all slowly dropped out of running. So there’s hope for everyone!”
Fast-forward a decade or so and 29-year-old Adam’s achievements in the world of ultra marathon running are staggering.
Adam completed his first marathon at 18, did two the following year and three the year after that...

“So I decided I wanted to become the youngest person to do 100 marathons,” he said.

Adam, who is also quite keen on jiving and the rather less energetic sport of darts, completed that challenge in 2010... then kept going.

He has now clocked-up 270 events, and has won around 130 of them. He hopes to reclaim his “fastest ten in ten days” title in the next few weeks.
And Adam doesn’t stop at marathons: he did his first 100-mile event earlier this year – and won it, in 17 hours 35 minutes.
He’s not exactly shoddy at shorter distances
either. He hopes to score his 100th Parkrun win this weekend (parkruns are free 5k races held in parks around the country every weekend ).

And it was running – literally – that took him to Oasis Academy Oldham.

Adam took on the 262 Challenge – so called for the number of miles covered – to run ten marathons in five days for the educational and community development charity, Oasis UK.
“As soon as I heard about Oasis and the work they do for children and communities across England, I wanted to support the cause,” he said.
Starting in Humberside and finishing in London, he crossed the country, visiting many Oasis-sponsored schools and projects along the way to give inspirational talks to pupils.

Students at Oasis Academy Oldham asked him, among other things, about his training regime.

“Well because I do this regularly, my body has become used to doing the mileage, so my training is taking part in events.
“My body recovers really quickly because I am so used to doing this.”
Pupils joined him to run the mile or so from the school to its primary partner, Oasis Academy Limeside, where Adam ran round the playground with the youngsters before giving a special assembly
.
Chief executive of Oasis Community Partnerships, Dave Parr, said: “We’re thrilled Adam took on this remarkable feat of endurance for Oasis and the communities we serve.

“It was a chance for the young people at our schools to see first-hand the dedication, commitment and resilience needed to undertake such a test.”