Man, 71, running 121 miles for granddaughter

Stan Bradbury is fundraising to help pupils at school with his granddaughter Maggie

A 71-year-old man is set to run 121 miles from his home to his granddaughter's special needs school in Gloucestershire.

On 8 September Stan Bradbury will set off from his home in Weybridge, Surrey, ready to spend the next eight days covering the distance to the Sladewood Academy in Stroud.

His efforts are part of a fundraising drive to help fund a specialist play area for pupils like his granddaughter Maggie, 5, who has spent a year at the school.

"They're looking for a play area that will be safe and accessible for a real variety of physical needs amongst the kids - something that's a bit challenging for them and just exciting," said Mr Bradbury.

Mr Bradbury was inspired to help fundraise after seeing his granddaughter struggle with the play equipment at her school

"It's a lovely school, and they deserve the best facilities they can get," he added.

Maggie, he explained, lives with a global development delay caused by Phelan-McDermid syndrome, affecting her speech and mobility.

He was inspired to help fundraise for the new play area after taking Maggie to a familiarisation day at the school, where she fell over and skinned her knee at the existing play area after struggling with the accessibility of the equipment on offer.

A custard tart along the way was the secret of maintaining his endurance, Mr Bradbury joked

A keen runner for more than 40 years, Mr Bradbury has completed a number of marathons over the years - but this is a new challenge altogether.

Racking up around 50 miles a week in training, he said: The worry is not stamina, it's just just getting injured - it's quite easy to do."

His training regime involves finding a cafe on the way so he can get a coffee.

"Custard tarts seem to be the secret ingredient for getting me going on the second half of the run," he added.

While admitting he had some trepidation about getting lost along the way, Mr Bradbury said making a difference to the school his granddaughter "loves" made all the preparation well worth it.

"I see the the variety of kids coming out of that school at the end of the day and it is lovely to see that they're all getting a terrific education," he said.