Worthing man James Baydar is running 21 half marathons to raise money for an animal welfare charity, in remembrance of his beloved cat.
The 52-year-old runner who moved to the UK from his native Turkey in 1994, has set himself the impressive feat of endurance to support Cats Protection’s Worthing and District Branch.
With three half marathons down, James has a further 18 to go, with most taking place in and around his Worthing hometown, due to travel restrictions. The next run will be on Valentine’s Day (Sunday, 14 February).
James, of Brighton Road, Worthing, said: “I wanted to do something in memory of my cat Nermal, who sadly passed away a couple of years ago, and to support my local branch of Cats Protection, who have felt the financial strain of the pandemic. Originally I was going to run the Great North Run 2020, but when that did not happen I came up with the idea of running 21 half marathons.”
The challenge should end with the Great North Run, which is officially the world’s biggest half marathon. If that international event on Sunday, 12 September, cannot go ahead as planned, James will return to his local streets instead.
James, who is a certified energy healer, interviewed major names such as Debbie Harry, Björk and Nick Cave during his previous career as a music journalist. Unfortunately, the pandemic put his alternative therapy practice on hold but he has been filling his time with running, training and learning to play the piano.
James took up running ten years ago and has completed four full marathons, including the New York City Marathon twice, as well as dozens of half marathons – 16 in the past year alone. Most recently he completed a 1,743K virtual challenge, covering the distance between Land’s End and John O’Groats in 153 days.
He said: “I don’t know what attracted me to running in the first place. One day I popped out for a run and I haven’t stopped running since. I’m neither Mo Farah nor Eddie Izzard; I’m just someone who enjoys the escapism of running.”
Tackling 21 half marathons between January and September means running one every 10-12 days, but James is taking it all in his stride.
“It’s 276 miles in total, which is not such a big deal but it does take some planning,’ he added. “Training is going well so far. Funnily enough, I run much better in the winter. I use a couple of apps to analyse my runs and to post proof of the half marathons on my fundraising page.”
Eric White, of Cats Protection’s Worthing and District Branch, said: “James is a regular bargain hunter at our Worthing shop and the team knows him very well – and Hugo his dog, too. We are delighted that he has committed to such a tremendous challenge to support our work for better cat welfare in our town.”
