'I've run dressed as Robin Hood and Darth Vader'

Trainers? Tick. Water? Tick. Darth Vader costume? Or perhaps Robin Hood? Tick.

Every day for the past 10 months, Dean Tatum has pounded the pavements come rain or shine, often donning fancy dress.

The 59-year-old of Great Dunmow, Essex, started a year-long running challenge on his birthday in March 2024, aiming to run 500 miles (804km) before he turned 60.

It is a fundraiser for the British Heart Foundation in memory of his childhood best friend Matthew Bright, who died after suffering a heart attack 15 years ago.

"He was a good friend at school and an even better friend, actually, when we left school," said Mr Tatum, who met Mr Bright when they were classmates in Braintree, Essex.

Mr Tatum hit his distance goal earlier in January, so has extended his target to 600 miles (965km) before his birthday.

He has raised nearly £3,000 so far, which he hopes will help cover the cost of installing defibrillators in rural villages.

The dad-of-four started wearing fancy dress costumes on many of his runs when he started promoting his fundraising efforts on social media.

The costumes caused embarrassment for his teenage daughter who had to film him running as Star Wars character Darth Vader.

"I've always had a bit of a love of dressing up like most men, but most men don't admit it," the self-employed sales agent joked.

He enjoyed runs in sunnier climes during family holidays to Morocco and Cyprus, and said his hardest run was after returning from Christmas in Australia to a below-freezing UK.

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