Gloucester man runs seven marathons in seven days for donkeys

Clive Poole, 57, completed the 183.4-mile challenge at a special running event called ‘Week At the Knees’ at two scenic venues in Milton Keynes last month – but the challenge didn’t come without a bit of drama.

As Clive was into the last five miles of his seventh marathon, his ankle gave out. This meant he had to cover the remaining distance at near walking pace, but spurred on by pure adrenalin and the thought of raising funds for donkeys, he made it across the finish line.

It was by chance that Clive found out about The Donkey Sanctuary and met some of the four-legged residents at our sanctuary in Sidmouth.

As the UK was just coming out of the Covid lockdowns, Clive and his wife Nicky took to taking staycations rather than going abroad. During a holiday in Devon, while Clive was out on a morning run, he discovered that they were located literally next door to our Sidmouth sanctuary.

They went to visit and fell in love with donkeys and the location. Clive described the sanctuary as ‘a little bit of heaven on earth’.

The Gloucestershire County Council Payroll and Pensions Manager is no stranger to distance running. His previous marathons include London, Manchester, Brighton, Chester and Snowdonia.

Clive has also set his sights on being a full member of the UK 100 Marathon Club, which after completing the latest seven marathons, puts him on 90, with just 10 more to go. Clive’s 100th marathon is scheduled for 11 August in Birmingham.

Talking about what inspired Clive to take on the Seven in Seven challenge, he said: “I wanted to raise money for a place and animal I love, and as I enjoy running, I wanted to take on an epic challenge and just see how far I could push myself.”

For Clive, one of the main highlights of completing the seven marathons at Willen Lake and Caldecotte Lake in Buckinghamshire was making some friends for life, after crossing the finish line with the 12 out of the 15 who had started the gruelling event.

Clive and Nicky now visit East Devon three or four times a year where they make a point of visiting the sanctuary. They always visit adoption donkey Drizzle, who they have adopted for their two-year-old grandson Roman.

As if completing this wasn’t quite enough, Clive decided to mark the occasion in a more permanent way. He has recently had The Donkey Sanctuary’s logo and ‘7 marathons - 7 days’ tattooed on his arm, as a lasting reminder of his epic fund-raising challenge for donkeys.

Rose Huxham, Fundraising Officer at The Donkey Sanctuary, added: “We offer Clive our heartfelt congratulations on completing such a mammoth task.

“It is such an amazing achievement to not only complete the seven marathons in seven days, but for raising such a great amount too, which will help us continue our work supporting donkeys at most in need.”