Ben Smith is a marathon runner who completed 401 marathons in 401 days in England between 2015 and 2016. He began his run on September 1, 2015 and ran for 284 consecutive marathons until a back injury forced him to stop for 10 days. He later resumed and finished with 401 marathons with a total of raised £330,000 for Kidscape and Stonewall. In 2016, he received the Helen Rollason Award at the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Awards.
Smith wrote the book 401:The Extraordinary Story of the Man Who Ran 401 Marathons in 401 Days and Changed His Life Forever about his struggles with mental health, bullying, and divorce.
He started a foundation called the 401 Foundation to provide grants to organizations and individuals to focus on self-esteem and mental health.
He announced in early 2021 that he will run and cycle 14,000 miles across 50 US states in 104 days in 2021, assuming COVID-19 restrictions allow.
Awards and honors
2016: ITV Fundraiser of the Year at the Pride of Britain Awards
2016: Helen Rollason Award at the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Awards
2016: the Power of Light Award from the Cabinet Office and former PM Theresa May
2016: TedxYouth Talk on December 3, 2016
References
Marathon runners
Year of birth missing (living people) Living people
