Claire Lomas is a true ASICS Greater Manchester Marathon hero.

Claire, who was severely injured in a freak horse riding accident in 2007, has been inspiring others and raising funds for spinal cord research since. In April 2018 Claire undertook and completed an incredible challenge, completing the ASICS Greater Manchester Marathon course over nine days.

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You followed Claire’s journey with a daily blog. You can read updates from each day below…

DAY ONE – SUNDAY 8TH APRIL

Claire Lomas, the inspirational paraplegic athlete is on track to smash her marathon challenge record. She got off to a great start at the ASICS Greater Manchester Marathon on Sunday 8 April.

Claire, who walks with the help of a robotic suit, joined over 10,000 runners who took part in the event.

On the first day of her challenge, Claire completed four miles of the course. “My fastest ever,” she confirmed. “I’m very happy with today’s progress.”

Claire will be starting the second day of her ASICS Greater Manchester Marathon Monday 9 April at mile 2 of the course. She took a minor detour, completing mile 20-22of the marathon course on Sunday in order to take advantage of road closures on race day. “I wanted to take advantage of roads being closed as it is so much easier going than on pavements – they slow me down so much,” she said. For the rest of her marathon challenge, she will be travelling along the ASICS Greater Manchester Marathon route where possible.

Race organisers are planning a massive finish at the end of Claire’s challenge and the people of Greater Manchester are invited to cheer her on.

DAY TWO – MONDAY 9TH APRIL

Inspirational athlete Claire Lomas will be continuing the third leg of her ASICS Greater Manchester Marathon Challenge today.
Claire, who is paralysed from the chest down, started at the fifth mile of the course today and will be pursuing her dream of smashing her marathon best until about 4pm.

Using a robotic suit to support her, Claire pushes through the pain of walking each day to achieve her goal. She welcomes well-wishers to stop and offer her encouragement.
She said: “I feel that I had a hard day yesterday but people’s support and donations keep me going strong.
“I’m really chuffed with progress so far.”

As of Monday, two days into taking on the 26.2miles of the ASICS Greater Manchester Marathon course, she completed seven miles.
Race organisers Xtra Mile Events are planning a huge finish for Claire who is raising money for the Nicholls Spinal Injury Foundation to help beat spinal cord injury, www.justgiving.com/fundraising/lotsofsmallsteps.

As of this morning, she has raised nearly £15,000 of her £25,000 target.

DAY THREE – TUESDAY 10TH APRIL

Claire Lomas has successfully completed Day 3 of her marathon challenge, covering a total of 10 miles of the ASICS Greater Manchester Marathon as she ends the tough rainy day at mile 8 of the course.

Claire said: “It has been a hard day – the wet made some areas slippy and my back ached from the two long days out but the support from the locals helped and I completed the three miles I hoped to do”.

Claire has been receiving fantastic support both on the streets and in the media, with tweets coming from celebrities such as Deborah Meaden, who hope to join her for the finish line celebration early next week.

The total raised on Claire’s fundraising page is currently sitting at a total of £16,000 for the Nicholls Spinal Injury Foundation to help beat spinal cord injury.

DAY FOUR – WEDNESDAY 11TH APRIL

A challenging Day 4 is now complete for our inspirational and incredible Claire Lomas.

The day got off to an exciting start with a crew from BBC Breakfast coming along to find out more about Claire’s walk and her story. It looks like the interview really increased interest and support in the challenge, with nearly

£500 of donations being made today alone. Fantastic!

Claire has made it to the halfway mark and is overall very happy with her progress. The aches and pains on her body are proving tough after her movement since Sunday, however her spirits are remaining high.

Claire said: “Being on BBC Breakfast this morning was very exciting, and it has encouraged people to come out and support me – which is great!”

“The slightly cold weather has been sore on my bones, but some well-placed cafes along the way provided a warm haven for a break when I needed it the most. Like yesterday, the pavements are still proving tricky to walk on due to being uneven, but I’m not letting anything stop me!”

Claire has been receiving fantastic support both on the streets and in the media, you can watch her on ITV Granada tomorrow morning from 9.30am onwards.

The total raised on Claire’s fundraising page is currently sitting at a total of over £16,400 for the Nicholls Spinal Injury Foundation to help beat spinal cord injury.

DAY FIVE – THURSDAY 12TH APRIL

Inspirational athlete Claire Lomas completed an incredible 16miles of her ASICS Greater Manchester Marathon challenge on Thursday.

Claire, who is paralysed from the chest down, will be starting the next leg of her incredible journey on Friday at 9:30am.

She will start at mile14 of the course on Stockport Road and head north near Brooklands and Sale and has urged anyone in the area to come by for a visit and a selfie.

She has confirmed that she is on track to smash her previous marathon record and is expecting to cross the finish line of the ASICS Greater Manchester Marathon in front of Trafford Town Hall on Monday.

On Thursday, Claire’s challenge took her through Altrincham where crowds of people were seen coming out of their homes and places of work to cheer her on.

She said: “Today was the most challenging yet – I felt tired from the start. However the incredible support in Althrincham boosted me along the route.”

DAY 6 – FRIDAY 13TH APRIL

Amazing to be joined by my parents and girls 🙂 brightened up my walk today which was brilliant as the pavements were tricky and slippy.

I walked to the point I did on Sunday (about 19.7) and as I did up to 22 miles on race day whilst roads closed tomorrow starts at mile 22. I will start later tomorrow so I can have a few more hours for my arms and shoulders to recover before the last section!

Flipper guy was amazing !! X

DAY 7 – SATURDAY 14TH APRIL

Inspirational Claire Lomas will be starting at Mile 22 on the second-to-last day of her ASICS Greater Manchester Marathon challenge on Sunday.

Claire, who is paralysed from the chest down, is on track to cross the finish line of the race around 3pm in front of Trafford Town Hall on Monday.

She welcomes well-wishers to come out and say hello and take a selfie with her as she counts down to her magnificent finish, which will see her complete her marathon challenge in an amazing eight days. The last time she did a marathon it took her 17 days to finish, making her challenge in Greater Manchester a true triumph.

On Saturday Claire got some special support – her two young daughters and her parents have come to help keep her spirits up and enjoy some family time as she gets near the end.
Mile 22, on Church Road near Urmston, will see the paralysed athlete – who walks with the aid of a special robotic suit – come ever so much closer to the end of her 26.2mile odyssey.

She will start a little later than her usual 9:30am start in order to ensure she is in shape for her last two days which takes a significant toll on parts of her body that are unaffected by paralysis.

She said: “It’s amazing to be joined by my parents and girls. It really brightened up my walk on Saturday which is brilliant, as the pavements were tricky and slippy. I will start later on Sunday so I can have a few more hours for my arms and shoulders to recover before the last section!”.

DAY 8 – SUNDAY 15TH APRIL

After a successful Day 8 of walking the ASICS Greater Manchester Marathon, Claire Lomas is due to cross the finish at 3pm on Monday 16th at Trafford Town Hall where race organisers Xtra Mile Events have arranged a big celebration for Claire.

Claire’s support has been growing, with hundreds of people joining her on the streets to support her biggest marathon challenge to date.

Claire has inspired the ASICS Greater Manchester Marathon team so much that they have decided to donate £5 from every entry fee to the 2019 event on Monday 16th and Tuesday 17th to the Nicholls Spinal Injury Foundation. Claire’s original target of raising £25,000 has been well achieved, with a current total of £29,400!