On New Year’s Eve, the truly remarkable Gary McKee finished his 365th marathon of 2022, raising over £1 million, which will be split between Macmillan Cancer Support and Hospice at Home West Cumbria.
McKee is a former Wath Brow Hornets captain who previously climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, cycled through Brazil, trekked through New Zealand, ran from Land’s End to John O’Groats, ran 100 marathons in 100 days and then 110 marathons in 110 days, all for cancer charities.
If you could relive one day from all of your fundraising activities, which would it be?
I’ll go for the day in September when I was met by the children from Mayfield School. They are kids with learning difficulties, mobility issues and autism etc. The whole school was there, and they’d done some fundraising. Two kids with callipers on their legs held my hand – it was the only time in the year that I walked any part of a marathon. The kids were just smiling away. It reminded me that, however challenging the marathons were, other people are having a tougher battle. I’m filling up now thinking about it. They underlined I was there to help other people.
In all, I ran with over 2,000 schoolchildren from 30 different schools. Over 200 people did full marathons with me. Many more cycled or walked the full course.
After completing 365 marathons in the year 2022, how are you currently feeling?
Well, I’ve got Covid now! I can’t remember feeling unwell in my adult life, but I’ve got a cough, a sore head and I’ve lost my sense of smell. It’s the first time I’ve had it. I have a gym at home, so I can walk or run on the treadmill to see how I go. My guard was probably down when the challenge ended, and it’s got on top of me.
Every day your vest carried a dedication or a message to someone. Is there one particular story that struck a chord?
I was looking for sponsorship, and people could sponsor my vest for £100 a day. Most were in memory of someone who had passed away. Before I started, someone I know called Michael got in touch to ask if I would run in memory of his son Gary. I knew the date would be 5th November because I remember the day he died ten years ago. Gary wasn’t a drinker, but he’d been to the local pub and asked for a couple of cans of coke to go home with. He slipped down a bank on his way home. He passed out and froze to death.
Michael has Parkinson’s and he ended up joining in on his bike to ease his symptoms and to help commemorate his son. His wife came out of the house for the first time in ten years because she hadn’t been able to get over what had happened. He said it was the nicest anniversary of the death they’d had. Michael ended up becoming one of the photographers, and he phoned me the other day to say he was missing it.
Can you describe a typical day in 2022 with you balancing marathons, work and family life?
If it was a workday, I’d get up at 4.45 am. I’d have coffee and do a motivational video, mentioning who was running with me and the sponsors. I’d give out my quote of the day because I like to encourage people to get exercising. Tuesdays were ‘Check it Tuesday’ to encourage people to check themselves for lumps as an early diagnosis can make a big difference. I’d use the massage guns on my legs, get some photos taken, and then I’d check the weather. I’d go outside where there’d be either a few people or a lot of people.
We’d start the marathon at 6am on a workday or 8am or a non-workday. We’d all have head torches if it was dark. People used to leave boxes with water, chocolate, biscuits, hot Vimto and daily quotes. At the halfway point, someone would be there with tea, coffee, cake, towels and hot-water bottles. I might change my jacket.
Two 75-year-olds, Bill and Janet Arnott, came out every day with hot drinks – Bill’s Brews. People would join at that point if they wanted to do a half marathon. Then we’d reverse what we’d done.
A friend owns a healthy-eating business and was preparing my meals, which I’d pop in the microwave. I’d go for a shower, and then go to work for the afternoon shift at 1.45pm. While at work, I’d try to keep mobile by getting around the plant. At 10pm I’d get the massage guns on my legs and then go to bed.
The lads in the office were great, covering my morning shifts, but I still had to do a few mornings, and then I’d run in the afternoon. Those would finish at 7pm and then I’d be doing another the next morning, so that’s two in 16 hours. Last summer was very hot, so I had to be sensible, slow down and get more water on board. Darren Blanks, a blind army veteran, ran 63 marathons with me. His story is incredible. He was in Afghanistan. His positive attitude is amazing. He never looks for negatives and is the most humorous kid.
All but five of your marathons were along the same route. Tell us about it.
We live in Cleator Moor, which is four miles in from the Whitehaven coast. The route was a former railway line, serving the iron-ore industry. It’s part of the Coast-to-Coast route, which goes to the north-east. We’d run from Cleator Moor to Mirehouse, which is all tarmacked and slightly downhill, then back up to Rowrah, which is eight miles uphill. You think of rail lines as flat, but with the number of climbs, I’ve done the equivalent of up and down Mount Everest 12 times! We’d have a cup of tea at Rowrah and check everyone was okay. We’d then turn round at Rowrah and replicate what we’d done back to Cleator Moor.
Can you describe the scenery?
We saw so much change through the seasons. There were no buds on the trees at first. There was snow on the fells. Then spring exploded, and we saw lambs being born in the fields. Geese came and went, and we saw all the flowers from snowdrops to daffodils, foxgloves and mayflowers. Soon there were full leaves on the trees. We saw deer and red squirrels. And then in autumn, the leaves started to change colour. The lambs were turning into sheep.
There were also changes in the people I was running with. Runners were increasing from 5K to 10 and then full marathons. Suddenly, instead of counting the days upwards, when we got past 265 marathons, and we were counting down from 100. Snow was back on the fells. The frost was back. We needed jackets again and hot towels instead of ice pops. Coming up to Christmas, everyone had a buzz about them. Word was spreading and there were more media and podcast requests. The money on the page was increasing.
Marathon runners describe “hitting a wall” towards the end of a race. Does that happen to you?
No, I never hit a wall. I was running not racing – all at my own pace. We’d stop and look at things of interest in a field, for example. Some do a marathon and can’t walk the next day because they’ve achieved their goal, and they go and have ten pints to celebrate! People who talk about the wall are more likely to experience it. If you don’t know it’s there, it won’t happen. Just slow down and have confidence in your ability.
Tell us about the injury you sustained.
After about six months, I developed hamstring tendonitis and had to run for a while with a dead leg. I was having to do a mile on the treadmill in the morning to get my legs moving before the marathon. I used the sauna as well because I prefer heat to ice treatment.
Someone in Germany was tracking my progress and put up my average times. When I had the injury, I had to slow from eight-minute miles to ten. I should have been doing ten from the start as I did when I ran from Land’s End to John O’Groats. The reason I did eight at first is that I was comfortable with that pace, and I had to get back to work!
Most of the money you’ve raised came in the last few weeks. Was it dispiriting on days when comparatively little was coming in?
It was never a problem for me, but there was frustration among other people that I wasn’t getting enough media attention. We wanted people to donate, but we were also mindful of the hard times we’re living in. I did a podcast in April and described it as a 365-piece jigsaw. I’ll put a piece in place every day, and then it’ll start to become clearer for people as it comes to the end. That’s what happened when I did the 100 marathons in 100 days and the 110 in 110. We knew the BBC were coming on the final day, and that would make a difference. Kevin Sinfield said he’d run a day with me as well, and I knew that would help. My own employer said on the 30th that they’d donate £55,000, which got us halfway to the goal. We only had a day left, and we were confident we’d hit the million.
Describe the events of the final day.
When I set off on New Year’s Eve, we were at £534,000. I checked my phone at the first stop, and it was at £650,000. I couldn’t believe it. A hundred grand had been raised in 40 minutes! That was down to the BBC interview at 6.10am. I knew then that something was happening. A friend organised an event at the Olympic Stadium, and Mo Farah got involved. He’s an investment banker, so not short of a few bob, and he said he’d top it up to £1 million. So I knew then we’d ticked both boxes – doing the runs and raising the money. On the evening of the final run, we were at the club in Wath Brow. There were 100 people in the room, constantly refreshing the page. At 7.20pm, there was a huge cheer. We’d hit a million.
As this is a rugby paper, I need to ask you at least one question about your playing days! How long did you play for the Hornets, and what sort of team were they back then?
I played right through my youth from the age of seven. I played open-age at 16. I captained the first team at 18. That was before they were in the national leagues. We had some outstanding players like the former BARLA captain Martin Amor, Paul Jenkinson, Shaun Rooney, Kevin Howland, Martin Eldon, Lee Power, Neil McCartney and Wes Wilson. We had some fantastic seasons. I was a hooker or loose forward, but my career was cut short through injury.
Wath Brow Hornets are one of the top clubs in the country, and I’m still involved with them. The coach Ian Rooney lives next door to me. I coached the under-14s. I’ve always been held in high esteem there, and I still talk to the players and give advice when I can. We have some fantastic kids at the moment. Every youth team is coached by a former payer. They’re all Cleator Moor or Wath Brow lads too. It’s a fantastic place to live.
*You can still donate to Gary’s fund at justgiving.com/fundraising/threesixfive.
This article comes from this week’s issue of League Express. You can take out a subscription by going to https://www.totalrl.com/league-express/
