'If my dad was alive he'd be laughing his head off going 'yes, get in!''

Published in the Manchester Evening News

Belinda Neild doesn’t do anything by halves. And recently, it has seen the 49-year-old has become a familiar face across Manchester city centre.

Her journey started when her mother died just one day before her wedding in 2011. The tragedy inspired her to run her first 10k dressed as a sumo wrestler.

Completing her feat, she raised £200 for the hospice that had cared for her mum and her dad who passed away before Christmas. But her journey didn’t stop there.

Now, Belinda, from Swinton, has secured herself a place in the Guinness Book of Records for taking part in marathons in fancy dress. And is now seen across the region on banners, donning a bee outfit, to advertise the Great Manchester Run along Deansgate.

This year, she is embarking on her toughest feat yet - a 100-mile endeavour to raise vital funds for Moya Cole Hospice. The charity cared for her mother and father-in-law before they died, with Belinda also running for other relatives and friends she has lost to cancer.

“I’m running in honour of the incredible souls I’ve lost,” she told the Manchester Evening News. “My mum and dad, my father-in-law, beloved aunts, uncles, grandparents, and close friends.

“Too many goodbyes to cancer turned my grief into purpose. Running became my outlet, my tribute, my way of making sense of the loss”.

The art teacher from Fred Longworth High School has since been spotted in outfits including Forest Gump, a Rubix cube and a giant poppy. In 2019, dressed as a Crayon, she scored a Guinness World Record for becoming the fastest women in the world to run a marathon dressed as an item of stationery.

Documenting her journey on social media, Belinda was recently featured on billboards across Manchester as the Manchester Bee for the city’s Manchester Made campaign.

“If my dad was alive he’d be laughing his head off, going ‘yes get in!’,” she said. “He did have cancer but nobody really knew.

“He was one of those 85-year-olds that doesn’t tell anyone, painting the gate, going for a pint on a Saturday afternoon. He was literally just positive and just carried on with his life as normal.

“He was coming home on the Monday, and he died two days before Christmas. He should have been out the day after Christmas. I’m looking at his picture now because he’s smiling at me with his bow-tie on. He knew I was doing this run, so I’ve got to finish it.

“Everybody knew my dad. He was very well-liked. Because it’s so traumatic and tragic what happened, I’ve got to follow it through. No matter if it’s going to kill me. If I break my leg on that run, I’ll still be running and I’ll make sure I’ll finish.

“I just want to give something back to the hospice. So for me it would be absolutely amazing to hit that target”.

Since January, Belinda has followed a strict training plan for her upcoming 100-mile run. While teaching, she has been tackling a marathon every week in preparation.

“Hopefully the hard work training on tired legs will pay off,” she told the M.E.N.

In 2022, Belinda beat her personal best at the London Marathon, completing it in 3 hours, 38 minutes and 22 seconds, while raising £5,261 for the hospice.

She now needs to raise a final £3,000 to meet her target before she runs the Castle to Castle 100-Miler, from Bamburgh in Northumberland to the heart of Edinburgh, alongside husband Steven.

“This year’s challenge will be the toughest I’ve faced yet,” she said. “I’m fundraising for Moya Cole Hospice, whose compassionate care made all the difference in my mum’s final days. If just one patient smiles because of the support I raise, then every mile will be worth it.

“Running has been my way of healing and fighting back. This journey started in grief, turned into purpose. I realised that if I run in costume, I can raise more money.

Talking about how she keeps going, Belinda said: “I’m quite resilient. I just think about the funds and the to be honest, it’s quite stressful. I can get quite emotional because at the beginning I think ‘if I don’t finish this, I’ve raised like £6,000’.

“I just kind of like train my brain to just keep going and keep putting one foot in the other. People think it comes easy to me, but it doesn’t”

Moya Cole Hospice needs over £20,000 each day to keep their doors open. Fundraising Manager, Lucy Green told the M.E.N: “Belinda has been an incredible supporter of Moya Cole Hospice for years.

“It amazes me how she goes above and beyond every time to raise funds for our hospice. She is a true inspiration and she is taking on a mammoth operation with her 100-mile Ultramarathon this Summer. I can’t wait to follow her along in her journey and fingers crossed she reaches £50k.”

Donations can be made to the fundraiser here.