Norfolk runner Ian Odgers flies out to Japan to complete his 52nd marathon in a year
Dereham man Ian Odgers, pictured after running his 52nd marathon in the space of a year, in Japan. - Credit: Archant
Some people set out to run just one marathon in their lifetime.
But, today, a 48-year-old man from Dereham in recovering from running his 52nd marathon in a year.
Ian Odgers finished the Kyoto Marathon, in Japan, on Sunday in four hours and 23 minutes.
It was the 90th marathon he has run in his lifetime.
Mr Odgers, who works as a production manager for Peerless Plastics and Coatings in Thetford and has six children, is spending the next few days recovering in Japan with his wife Ria.
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The last year has seen him fly more than 35,000 miles and drive more than 10,000 miles to run marathons in eight different countries, as well as the UK, including Brazil, Spain, Norway, Finland, Italy, Denmark, Ibiza and the Netherlands.
Mr Odgers, who started running at the age of 35, said: 'London was my first marathon in 2005 and London is still, hands down, my favourite marathon.
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'Last summer I decided to give this challenge a go. I know someone who has done 202 marathons in a year so anything is possible. It seemed a nice figure 52 weeks in a year so 52 it was.'
During the year, Mr Odgers pushed himself so far that he ended up in hospital for nine hours, after completing a 100-mile race from Richmond to Oxford.
He has also twice run two marathons in one day and raised £16,000 to help several charities.
Mr Odgers said: 'I love to challenge myself - to push through pain and be the best that I can be. I am not the fastest but I believe in myself and I am highly motivated.
'Travelling to and from the marathons can get lonely and there has been plenty of early starts and nights in hotels. Running through some of the injuries has been tough and I owe a lot to Heidi Dawson at Mattishall Sports and Injury Clinic.
'I feel really proud but it hasn't sunk in yet.' Mr Odgers is now targeting completing his 100th marathon - which he hopes to do in Kent in May. He also plans to start competing in triathlons, ironman competitions and in a 24-hour track event.
He said: 'I've only just got the first bike I have owned since my teens and I hadn't been swimming for 40 years and can't really swim but why would that stop me?'
