Man runs London Marathon barefoot in tribute to his late mother

Father-of-three, 34, ran London Marathon completely BAREFOOT while wearing a 22lb weighted vest in tribute to his late mother who died from cancer following nine-year battle

• Steven Smith decided to make the 26.2 mile run on Sunday October 1 harder
• He ran completely barefoot while wearing a 22lb weighted vest – and was in pain 
• The 34-year-old was spurred on by the thought of his late mother Patricia

A father-of-three ran the London Marathon completely barefoot while wearing a 22lb weighted vest in tribute to his late mother who died after a nine year battle with cancer. 

Steven Smith decided to make the 26.2 mile run on Sunday October 1 even harder to symbolise ‘the pain a cancer patient goes through’ while raising money for the charity Cancer Research UK.

The 34-year-old from Grantham, Lincolnshire, said that 13 miles into the race he thought he had stood on a wrapper – but quickly discovered it was a piece of skin from his peeling feet.

He also said that blisters on his feet started to fill with small stones like ‘bags of marbles’.

Despite his feet being in tatters, Steven pushed through the pain after being spurred on by the thought of his mother, Patricia Pendleton, who died from cancer three years ago and fought on until the very end.

Speaking today, Steven said: ‘The whole concept behind running the London marathon barefooted, was that I lost my mother three years ago from cancer and, believe it or not, there was method behind the madness.

Steven Smith ran the London Marathon barefoot and with a weighted vest on to raise money for the charity Cancer Research UK 

He has shared images of his feet in tatters following the run – covered in plasters and blisters

‘The barefoot symbolized the pain a cancer patient has to go through – 26.2 miles barefoot is going to hurt.

‘I’m not saying that what I did was anything like what a cancer patient goes though.

‘But there were times where mum couldn’t even go up the stairs, a simple task like that was her own marathon – her own Everest.

‘So I wanted to replicate that feeling. Walk a mile in her shoes, so to speak.

‘The weighted vest symbolized the weight that the individual has to carry in their mind – there’s not a minute of the day where you are not thinking about it.

‘My advice for someone inspired to do something similar is to find yourself a ‘why’ – a reason for doing it – because if you’re doing for vanity or ego purposes you will lose every time.’

Steven was motivated by the thought of his late mother Patricia Pendleton who died of cancer

‘It’s all about breaking mental barriers. Your mind will break before your body does, or in my case*feet,’ he said

Images show Steven sat on the ground with his medal around his neck after completing the marathon.

He is holding his dirty feet up which have plasters and blister covers across the cuts.

Writing about the amazing achievement on Facebook the day after he completed the challenge, Steven said: ‘It’s all about breaking mental barriers. Your mind will break before your body does, or in my case*feet.

‘Thirteen miles in, I thought I stood on an energy gel wrapper but to my surprise it was my skin peeling off my foot, so that’s where the mental battle started, the seed of doubt was planted.

‘Then my next incident happened, which nearly broken me. My left foot had a massive blister which burst but then made a skin pocket that collected stones, like a bag of marbles.

‘So sitting on the sidelines picking stones out of my feet is where I was ready to tap.

‘Then I thought about mum, nine years she fought cancer, never complained, never sat there pointing fingers at the world, just rolled up her sleeve and went after it.

‘If she could do that I can endure a couple more hours of pain. Giving up isn’t in the blood.’

He said the experience was amazing and the crowd was ‘phenomenal,’ cheering from start to finish. 

Steven said he’d recommend doing the marathon – though admitted he wouldn’t recommend doing it barefoot. 

Many commented on his post, telling him his mother would be proud of his efforts.  

Adam James Gayden said: ‘Absolutely f****g phenomenal effort chief.’

Katie Smith commented: ‘Super proud of you, what an achievement, your mum would be so so proud.’

Images show Steven sat on the ground with his medal around his neck after completing the marathon – here he is showing his muddy feet covered in blister plasters

People showed their support with messages of how proud they are of Steven for the challenge

Mike Wazowsky said: ‘Put some Vaseline on these feet, we have another run next month.’

Brandon Mcdonald said: ‘Some going that mate! Bet your feet are in absolute bits.’

Steven’s partner Emma also shared a video of his achievement on TikTok, writing: ‘My partner took part in the London Marathon 2022 barefooted with a 22lb weighted vest, couldn’t be more proud, what an incredible achievement.’

Emma added: ‘The barefoot was to represent the pain a cancer patient goes through, the weighted vest represents the weight that the individual has to carry.’

The video has gained over 19,900 views and more than 400 likes.

This isn’t the first gruelling task Steven has given himself this year.

In August he hiked Ben Nevis barefoot while carrying a 100lb barbell for charity.

To donate to his fundraising page, please visit: https://fundraise.cancerresearchuk.org/page/stevens-london-marathon-11

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