What began as a hungover Sunday morning declaration has turned into seven months of training, 1,300 miles run, three stone lost, and more than £5,000 raised for a loved one battling cancer.
Todd Fitzgerald, executive editor at the Manchester Evening News, made the spur-of-the-moment decision in March 2026 to run the Chester Marathon on October 11. He had run casually for a year or two, but never beyond five or six miles and with no real commitment.
A quick Google search settled on the Chester Marathon, and a hotel was booked in the city with his partner. That morning he ran just 3.01 miles.
Training and the cause
His watch data now shows 1,300 miles clocked this year. He has gone through four pairs of trainers, learned more about his body than he ever wanted to know, lost three stone, and bored countless people with pacing data and tales of interval runs along the River Mersey.
More importantly, he has raised more than £5,000 for someone he loves dearly. Earlier this year, his sister's partner Chloe, at the age of 32, was diagnosed with an aggressive soft tissue and bone cancer called Ewing sarcoma. The removal of a tumour, she was told, meant it was very likely she'd lose a leg. The cancer had also spread to a lung and a lymph node in her groin.
Since then, Chloe has battled gruelling rounds of chemotherapy and radiotherapy and has undergone an above-the-knee amputation. Her bravery is inspirational, he says, as she has smiled throughout, never complained, and stayed resoundingly positive.
The plan and the process
The marathon became the perfect opportunity to raise money to help Chloe as she adjusts to life with a prosthetic and recovers from treatment. He is grateful to every person who has donated, saying it kept him going every time his legs felt heavy and he wanted to give up a few miles in.
Back in March, as the reality of what he'd signed up for sunk in, he realised he needed a solid, comprehensive plan. The easiest option seemed to be a training app, which would set out the entire thing day-by-day and week-by-week right up until the race.
His mileage went from around 50 a month at the start of the year to over 200 a month by the summer. Weeks of 50-plus miles became normal, as did long runs on a Sunday of more than 20. When the app seemed a little rigid, ChatGPT helped tweak the training plan. In general, every week there has been a mix of interval runs, threshold runs, recovery runs, longer easy runs, and very long Sunday runs.
He quickly came to despise interval runs, and found long easy runs boring, with podcasts helping. Very long Sunday runs, peaking at 22 miles before the mileage begins to come down as you enter the 'taper' phase a few weeks before the race, can be a slog. But more recent outings have peppered in pace changes every three or four miles.
Races and reflection
He thought it best to enter a couple of official races before Chester. Having never run in an organised event, he took part in the AJ Bell Great Manchester Run half-marathon with his dad, and was fairly pleased with his time. The Stockport 10k followed, which he enjoyed though found more difficult than the half-marathon due to the intensity.
He never saw himself as a runner, and still doesn't really. He's not expecting to impress anyone with actual experience and talent. He just wants to get the marathon done.
The benefits have been immense. He has lost weight and feels better in his body than he has for a while. It has helped him escape from the everyday stresses of life and find a little peace, and given him an enormous sense of achievement, even before the race is run. But most importantly, it has given him the chance to help Chloe. Whatever happens on October 11, every mile has been worth it.
