![\"\"](\"https:\/\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IMG_4856-682x1024.jpeg\")
Cooke shared that his love for running has developed because of the freedom it offers. He said: “It is free in sense that when you\u2019re outside, you are free, you can go anywhere you want, you can do anything you want, you\u2019re not tied.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s just a bit of space and me-time when you\u2019re out and about doing your thing that you\u2019re invested in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s perfect, it\u2019s like an industrial engine – you put something into it and you get a product out – I like that feeling with running as well.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cooke never used to run for a club. He is widely known as ‘The Running Man in Blue’ because he used to always run in a blue vest, instead of a running club t-shirt. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
He said: “When you\u2019re running in fields, if you don’t run for a club people look at you funny.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He now runs for Barnsley Running Club, after previously running for Penistone Footpath Runners. He also created a group called Team Barnsley, which is a unified group of 1200 members made up of all the running clubs in Barnsley. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI like to create a team ethos with it. We\u2019ve got a group of about 40 like-minded runners who have started doing stuff together and training together, so it kind of helps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I enjoy seeing other people I train with thrive and succeed – seeing them do well is always a perk.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During his eight years of non-stop running, Cooke said his biggest achievement was the day after he ran the whole boundary of Barnsley on 4th June 2017. The 73 mile run left his legs so sore, that he considered his five mile run the day after the biggest success of the journey. He said: \u201cMy legs were banging the day after.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The runner’s most recent race was the Doncaster 10k on 26th November 2023, where he achieved a personal best. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n He said: \u201cObviously after 8 years of running every day, I\u2019ve had peaks in that where I\u2019ve PB\u2019d every single race, but in the last couple of years, I think I\u2019ve only PB\u2019d in the 10k distance.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n After explaining that he struggles to run quick, he said: \u201cObviously it felt good to PB at the weekend [in the Doncaster 10k] and show that the training that I have been doing is doing itself justice now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This weekend it seemed to have clicked at Doncaster and it felt almost like I was running on clouds when you feel like it\u2019s working on that day.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Cooke also entered Sheffield’s annual Percy Pud 10k this weekend for its 30th anniversary. He said: “Doncaster is quicker on paper but Percy pub gets a stronger and faster feel.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n When it comes to Cooke’s goals, he prioritises his marathons. He said: \u201cI put all my eggs in one basket – my marathons – that\u2019s my baby.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n As well as focusing on his marathons, he is still determined to run every day – “That’s always on my agenda.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" On Thursday 30th November, Gareth Cooke has ran every single day for eight years. Even after suffering a broken foot on three occasions, and a pulled glute, nothing stopped him. The born-and-bred Barnsley runner has completed 40 marathons, including the London Marathon, Milton Keynes Marathon, Hull Marathon, York Marathon and Edinburgh Marathon. He said: “My […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":171,"featured_media":48199,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[27,1],"tags":[337,18,462,225,9,338,45],"class_list":["post-48176","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sport","category-uncategorized","tag-barnsley","tag-doncaster","tag-london-marathon","tag-running","tag-sheffield","tag-south-yorkshire","tag-sport"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/new-1024x683.jpg\")