King’s College London (KCL) student Billy Nunn is embarking on a challenge to run seven marathons in seven days in April this year, for the charity UK Youth. Roar spoke to Billy about what the challenge means to him.
Billy, who is in his second year of studying geography and environmental science, will be running seven marathons in seven days between 6 to 12 April 2026. His first six marathons will be done in his local area of Southend-On-Sea, before finishing the challenge at the 2026 Brighton Marathon.
His inspiration for the challenge came after he ran the London Marathon last year, becoming one of the youngest to complete it at 18 years old, which he described as a “surreal moment”, with an incredible sense of achievement.
He raised £2,200 for the charity UK Youth but felt he needed to go further: “After completing the marathon, I felt that nothing had changed. Cuts were still being made to youth services. And so, I wanted to do something about this. This is where the idea of me running 7 Marathons in 7 Days was born.”
The charity UK Youth aims to provide young people with access to services within their local community and online, whose importance Billy reiterated:
“Youth services have been deeply rooted in my personal growth. From going to youth clubs and having chats with my youth worker, I’ve had the ability to develop my social skills, whereby I am now able to make conversation with literally anyone.
“UK Youth, as a charity, do so much for young people. With an open network of more than 9,000 youth organisations and national partners, they are focused on unlocking youth work as the catalyst of change that is needed now more than ever. Especially considering 1/2 of all youth clubs closed between 2011 and 2019, it’s so important we get them back open.”
As students, juggling degrees, part-time jobs, and our social lives is challenging enough before adding in Marathon training. Billy told Roar, managing commuting, working part-time, and training daily has “been difficult, but the opportunities have made it so rewarding!”
“The hardest part of training has been the emotional toll. It’s easier to get caught up in the numbers—if I did 20km one day, then 10km the next, I’d always feel down about it. I’m now learning that progress isn’t linear.”
You can donate to Billy’s fundraising here, or follow his progress on social media.
Grace Holloway is Roar's editor-in-chief managing the editorial side of our operation. She has gained valuable experience from Bloomberg as well as writing for Breaking Media, the Non-League Paper and Politics UK.
