Modest James battles elements to run 90 miles in 24 hours for Acorns Hospice

James Wright speaks as if he's a failure, but he is anything but. By his dejected tone you wouldn't think he had just run an incredible 90 miles in 24 hours and raised more than £10,000 for an under-threat hospice.

The father-of-two readily admits he's competitive and that once he has started something he is not one to stop.

What pained him even more was it was not the challenge that beat him. James, from Low Hill in Wolverhampton, had set out to complete 145 miles in one go down the length of the Grand Union Canal from Birmingham to London to raise money for Acorns children's hospice in Walsall in its ongoing battle for survival.

More than half way in he was doing fine. It was not his body that let him down but his father's car. He had been travelling in a support vehicle with vital supplies such as water and a change of clothes.

When the car broke down it was game over, as much as James wanted to carry on.

"If it was the middle of summer I could have gone it alone but without support I couldn't have gone further. It would have been stupid," he said.

The 40-year-old was forced to battle the elements of the good old British winter which brought rain and piercing winds.

But the fact James didn't complete the full 145 miles was inconsequential. Acorns will still get its money. It's only the runner's pride that's taken something of a hit.

Modest James admits its his competitive nature which has made him focus on not completing the challenge, rather than the fact he had run 90 miles while only stopping for short breaks and raised more than £10,000 for Acorns through Dudley Rotary Club which supported him on his journey.

The 'superhuman' runner set out on his latest mind-boggling mission just a few months after completing a remarkable 31 marathons in 31 days. All this from someone who barely ran at all five years ago.

The furthest he'd run in one go was 60 miles, highlighting the magnitude of James' achievement.

"When I set my mind to something I have to do it. It got to the point where I was being selfish and thought I'd done it for nothing.

"That's when my wife gave me a good talking to and said it's not about me it's about what I'm doing it for. I do know that I will do it again."

Acorns is a cause close to James and wife Gemma's heart and he has been desperate to help support the hospice, which needs to raise £2 million to survive. He has now raised more than £25,000 through his challenges.

James, a professional golfer at Penn Golf Club, followed the Grand Union Canal for more than 24 hours last weekend in wet and blustery conditions, making the journey even more difficult.

He said: "My legs probably felt worse after the first 12 miles than after 70 miles. The hard part was the weather. Underfoot it was treacherous. I was probably 10 hours behind it was that bad. I was going into the wind, it was bashing down for 16 hours. But I knew that was how it was going to be in winter time.

"I ended up getting lost at a new marina in Milton Keynes and did eight miles for nothing. I was running along thinking 'this has come back round. I've been here before'.

"I got to 70 miles and there was a bit of a low point. I was soaking and trying to get changed by the car and I was shaking.

"Before that I was falling asleep while running at 5am. I had probably been going 21 hours and couldn't keep my eyes open. It was freezing cold and was a bit of a low moment.

"But I got going again. The sun came up and I thought I'd got a new lease of life and was good to finish."

Although he was unable to complete the 145 on this occasion, James knows the difference his fundraising could make.

"Someone close to us has used Acorns for the last eight years. Unless you use the services people don't know about Acorns and realise that without Acorns what impact that would have on families in the West Midlands.

"It would be devastating if Acorns shut down. People rely on them so much."