You've got a friend in me... Stanley's marathon for Milosz!

Friends simply don’t come much better than 11 year old Stanley, who wanted to help his friend and classmate, Milosz, so much that he ran a marathon in 26 days.

Milosz has myotubular myopathy and he and his family dreamed of him having a power wheelchair to give him more independence and freedom in the lead in to his teenage years. Whilst there was some funding available there was still a significant shortfall of almost £7,000. Stanley rose to the challenge and was not deterred by the task in hand.

Every day for 26 consecutive days, come rain or shine, Stanley ran a mile with his dad running alongside him, and with his mum, sister and Milosz and his family cheering him on from a safe distance. The daily photos were heart-warming with pictures of Stanley and Milosz showing how many miles had been clocked up after each run.

The response to Stanley’s running and support of his friend was amazing, and Stanley not only raised the shortfall before his final 1.2 miles, he raised even more which was very kindly donated to Myotubular Trust.

Milosz’s parents, Monika and Michael, told us, “We are very grateful to Stanley and his family. Stanley is an amazing, determined, brave boy who did run every day no matter what the weather was like. Without Stanley and his family, the fund-raising wouldn’t be so speedy, warm and inspiring! Milosz is delighted and can’t wait for his new independence and freedom. He can’t wait to show off his new wheels 🙂 We are extremely grateful to the whole community, teachers, colleagues, friends, family, Father Owen form the Our Lady Of Victories Church, and the Building Society who were so supportive and generous. Without them, it wouldn’t be possible to raise the funds for Milosz’s powered wheelchair. We feel so grateful for and inspired by people who made this fund-raising so successful.”