Shrewsbury dad completes challenge running marathons in all 39 historic English counties for baby loss charity
Olly Brown's completed his nine month mammoth challenge for the charity, Tommy's
A man from Shrewsbury has completed a mammoth challenge, having ran a marathon a week in each of England's historic counties raising awareness of baby loss.
Olly Brown has spent nine months running in all 39 of the county's counties to raise money and champion the work of the charity, Tommy's.
Along with his wife, Amy, they've raised almost £90,000 for the charity through their running, social media campaigning and podcasts as part of their Marathons for Miracles mission.
They were driven to do something about baby loss after the couple suffered a miscarriage themselves back in 2022.
"It's definitely a relief," Olly said after finishing marathon number 39 in Norfolk earlier this month.
"I'm sure there'll be some sadness at some point - that hasn't kicked in just yet!
"It's mostly sort of relief to be done and a huge sense of pride as well for what my wife Amy and I and the whole team really have achieved."
Along the way, Olly ran each marathon with others who have been impacted by pregnancy loss, creating a community across the country.
He said the goal was just as much about raising awareness for the work Tommy's do as it was about the final sum.
"By going to every corner of the country, we were able to bring much greater awareness to what we were doing," he said.
"We did a podcast each week with the person that we were running with, which we've been sort of publishing as we go.
"So, we've been able to share 39 really, really powerful stories and a big range of experiences within everything to do with getting pregnant, being pregnant, losing pregnancies and everything in between.
"It sounds a horrible thing to say, given how sad the experiences are, but it's been a great showcase for the work that Tommy's are doing as a charity, and that was always the aim - to bring together a community as much as to just go and do lots of running!"
The finish line coincided with a big government announcement
Days after Olly crossed the finish line, the Prime Minister Andy Burnham announced a major change in the law that will see parents and loved ones who experience pregnancy loss have the right to take time off from work.
Olly, along with Tommy's as a charity, have welcomed the news, calling it a "positive step" in the right direction.
He said: "Progress is always welcome. I think that there's been a lot of calls for it to be paid rather than unpaid. That seems to be the next issue. But it's certainly a step forward."
"The sort of the theme that isn't a theme within those conversations is that everyone deals with these losses differently, he added
"Some will need a lot of space, some people need to carry on as normal, just to try and fill their time and keep their mind occupied.
"What this new legislation does is gives people that choice, and I think that's the main thing."
And, just because 39 marathons wasn't enough, Olly will also be running the 2027 London Marathon for Tommy's, continuing his mission to open up more conversations about baby loss.