FROME local, Chris Bale, will run 28 marathons in 28 days in memory of his daughter AnaBella who died in 2018 at the age of 28 days.
His challenge around the South West coast path, which kicks off next week on Friday 21st May, will raise money for two charities that supported him and his wife – The Grand Appeal at Bristol Children’s Hospital and Cruse Bereavement.
And through his challenge, Chris plans to raise awareness of baby loss and miscarriage from a father’s perspective, hoping to encourage others to open up about their experiences.
“I’m doing this for my daughter, to keep her name alive,” explained Chris talking to Frome Times, “for her legacy, and to raise some money for the charities that helped her us out when AnaBella was alive and after she died.
“And I want to help other dads who are going through the same thing, or those who may unfortunately experience the loss of a baby – which I think is not openly talked about enough.
“Grief is not something you just get over, you learn to carry it, live with it – but you don’t get taught this.”
Throughout his challenge, Chris will update his supporters about his progress with daily videos.
“I’m keen to lay myself bare emotionly in the videos,” said Chris, “and hopefully it will encourage more people to talk to someone – talking can be healing.”
Chris’ challenge is a change to his original plan to walk 500 miles in Spain, on the route known as the Camino De Santiago. This challenge was scheduled for April last year, but was cancelled because of the pandemic.
Determined to go ahead with a challenge, Chris revised his plans to allow for current Covid restrictions – his 28 marathon challenge will see him clock up nearly 734 miles.
About the challenge ahead, Chris said, “I’m feeling okay, I’m only competing against myself, as long as I complete that distance every day I will be okay – I’ve taken inspiration from Eddie Izzard [who ran 27 marathons in 27 days] and she was like if I can do it, anyone can do it, so that gave me a boost.
“What I wanted to do here was a physical challenge – I’m aware that my body is going to suffer and there will be a physical battle, but I want to juxtapose that with the mental battle that I went through when AnaBella died.
“Mental battles aren’t always so obvious, especially as men, we don’t tend to talk about our feelings and emotions, which is as brutal as the physical battle.”
As well as raising awareness of baby loss and miscarriage from a father’s perspective through his challenge, Chris has also launched his own podcast ‘A Father’s Grief’ as a platform for him and other fathers to share their story.
Chris said, “The act of sharing helps the person and the people listening to that story.”
Chris will be attempting the challenge alone, and is inviting anyone else who is on a “grief journey” to join him on any one of the days.
For more information about how to join Chris or to follow him on his challenge, visit his website: https://walkforanabella.com
To donate to the charities Chris is supporting, visit the website: www.gofundme.com/walk-for-anabella
