Jack Syder-Mills: Meet the runner who started the New Year in style
How one fundraiser brought in more than 6k for Brain Tumour Research by running six half-marathons in a day
It’s midnight on New Year’s Eve, and fireworks are exploding overhead as millions of people across the UK welcome in 2026.
But in one corner of Norwich, a lone runner is shunning the revelry taking place across the country. Instead, Jack Syder-Mills is heading out on the first of six (almost) half-marathons he will run on New Year’s Day.
In all, Jack is aiming to cover 121.5kms (75 miles), running along trails and through woods in the cold and dark to raise money for Brain Tumour Research.
While strong, wintry headwinds may have impeded his progress, Jack has the power of a strong cause pushing him forward. His extreme challenge has been inspired by his sister, Ella, who was diagnosed with a brain tumour when she was just 22.
That was almost two months ago. The cold of January 1 may have turned to almost constant rain, and even a tiny glimpse of sun, but Jack’s achievement hasn’t dimmed.
The more mathematically-minded reader may have noticed that the mileage Jack covered doesn’t, in fact, equate to exactly six half-marathons. Instead, each of the six segments he ran were 20.26kms (12.5 miles) long - a play on 2026 and an aside to his hope to finish the challenge in just over 20 hours.
Jack created the run with the intention of not only raising money for and awareness of Brain Tumour Research, but also to inspire people to take on their own goals.
“I wanted to do something people would look at it and go, ‘that’s really quite difficult’, and it would create a bit of media attention and interest around the charity,” he said.
“I’d done a few ultramarathons before, like 50-milers and 50ks, but I wanted to do something that was more fatigue-inducing. I wanted to do blocks, where you’d have short breaks in between, but the fatigue would build up.
“I also wanted to - like a lot of people say with these things - test my limits, and really see how far I could go, whether I would break, and how it would be.”
Raising awareness around brain tumours:
In July 2023, Jack’s sister, Ella, was diagnosed with a brain tumour. She had been studying neuroscience at Keele University and - remarkably - used her own lecture notes to self-diagnose the condition.
“She went to her GP,” Jack said. “And her studies gave her the confidence to be able to say, ‘I definitely think that I should have an MRI scan’.
“At the time, we didn’t know if the tumour was cancerous or benign, and obviously that was the worst period. We had a few weeks of a lot of uncertainty.”
Fortunately, it did turn out to be benign, but even with extensive treatment it has taken two years before doctors have been able to confirm Ella’s tumour is shrinking.
Jack first used running to raise money for Brain Tumour Research in 2024 when he ran the Dublin Marathon. It provided the inspiration to do something bigger, something that would increase awareness as well as providing the charity with much needed funds.
He said: “As I looked into it more and more, and talked to Ella about it, I began to realise how underfunded the area is and how little awareness there is of brain tumours and their various forms
“I wanted to do something about that, and it combined quite well with the idea of doing an insane challenge. I wanted to both inspire people and raise money.”
Brain tumours: The symptoms and statistics
Just one per cent of the national spend on cancer research is allocated to brain tumours
Brain tumours kill more children and adults under 40 than any other cancer
One in three people know someone affected by a brain tumour
Common symptoms of a brain tumour include severe headaches, nausea and vomiting, vision problems, seizures, numbness in the arms or legs, speech difficulties, and cognitive changes
Source: Brain Tumour Research
As Jack continued to research brain tumours, he was shocked to find that only one to two per cent of research funding for cancer is spent on tumours despite the illness killing more young people and adults under 40 than any other cancer.
“The brain is so fundamentally complex that we don’t even fully understand all of the inner mechanics and how they relate to one another,” he told Running Tales.
“That is a big factor. On top of that, people struggle to see some of the same breakthroughs that they do with other cancers, and it’s a more tricky one to work on.
“Awareness is really, really key. Giving people clear information on what the symptoms are, so they can get checked out early is probably where the biggest gains can be made.”
He added that if anyone has any concerns, they shouldn’t hesitate to see a doctor: “Some people may struggle to articulate their concerns. Or you see, especially with guys, this struggle to go to their GP and get something checked out.
“But it doesn’t hurt to get any concern checked out, no matter how minor.”
‘You can run further than you think’:
It was only around three years ago that Jack “couldn’t run a 10k”. Struggling to find the time to keep fit due to pressures at work, it was only when he switched jobs that he started to run.
Initially, he stuck to road running, mainly taking part in half-marathons, but eventually the call of the wild tempted him to try trail running.
“That is my real love,” he said. “I’ve always been a bit of an adventurer, I like exploring new places and getting stuck into trails, and the fens or mud.
“Whether that’s crossing bogs in Dartmoor, or going up the Lake District, I really love it.”
Jack’s running journey has been the perfect combination of having a powerful cause to move him forward and a love of the sport.
He told Running Tales that anyone hoping to develop their running should first try and find a love of it: “You’ve got to be enjoying it. Consistency and discipline result in the fitness improvements, and then you being able to do more and more.
“But to have that consistency, you’ve got to have something that’s driving you, and you’ve got to be enjoying it as well, because otherwise it’s a chore - and the neglected dishes get left in the sink.
“You have to find something that you enjoy about it. Maybe, like me, that’s going to new places and experiencing different bits of nature. Maybe, it’s making it more interactive, running with other people, making it a social activity.
“It doesn’t need to be about pace or times. I’d say to people to start at a pace that’s comfortable for them, and if they have to walk parts for it, that’s fine. Then, build from there.
“Don’t get bogged down by thinking that someone is running an ultra marathon and you can’t even run 5k. It’s like anything. If you’re building a mathematical skill, you start with basic arithmetic, and eventually reach advanced degree level.
“The hardest thing is just getting out the door. Just put your shoes on, find whatever mental trick you can to do that, and just get outside. Commit to running 2km or whatever, and then just try and go a bit further.
“Once you’ve done that, you’ll realise you really can go further than you think.”
The logistics of a long run:
Running more than 100kms in a day is no easy feat, and planning the challenge started four months before the event got underway.
Even then, Jack was indebted to the logistical help of his mum, Jane, who helped plan the route and crewed him on the day.
In August last year, he started to map out the routes he would take, plotting how long each block would be.
“I put it all out on social media to commit myself to it,” he added. “In the months that followed, I did think, ‘what am I doing to myself’ but it was set in motion by then.”
By breaking the distance into blocks, he was able to schedule time for some rest and to eat between each stage. It also allowed him to keep on track of his overall time goals.
“The idea was to be comfortable, but not too slow,” he said. “I ran the first block in one hour 50 minutes, and I had a good hour or more break between each one.
“At the start, I was running through this field, and could see New Year’s fireworks from all different angles, which was very cool.
“The second block was actually the hardest because of the way the route was structured. I knew it was going to be difficult. It was a long trail and fairly repetitive. It’s a beautiful area, but when it’s dark you’ve got to be careful.
“You just don’t notice the contours of the trees. There was a headwind as well, because it’s one straight trail, and with the wind chill it felt like -4°C.
“I needed to keep my energy levels up so there were quite a few bananas eaten going into that stage.”
The majority of his route, save for the final 8km (five miles) or so, was along trails, including traversing along some uneven terrain and even a coastal cliff top.
Although it may have made his challenge physically tougher, Jack was very deliberate about choosing to run on trails rather than roads.
He told Running Tales that trail running allows him to both connect with nature and calm his mind.
“If I’m feeling a bit frustrated or annoyed about something, I’ll go out on a trail run and just wipe everything away after a few kilometres.
“You get into this flow state, which lots of people talk about; this sense where you don’t have anything to worry about, and it’s just you and the movement.
“It often just takes me out of the BS of the modern world. I can just forget about capitalism and all the other bad things that are happening, and just be there in the moment, be fully present.”
Fundraising and future plans:
As if the challenge wasn’t tough enough, Jack added a masochistic twist at the end of it. Rather than simply cross a metaphorical finish line, he engineered the event so that the last couple of kilometres consisted of running 100 loops round a car park to “add to the mental insanity”.
Although he had deliberately planned for the run to be tough, there were times along the way when he began regretting his decision. It was then that his ‘why’ shone through.
“There were some really low moments,” Jack said. “The cold was just really biting me, no matter how quickly I was moving, and everything felt like it was just repeating, so I was starting to go a bit insane.
“I was thinking, ‘I’ve been running for an hour, and it doesn’t really feel like I’ve got anywhere’. There were periods where I just felt I was in the sky, just floating and not moving.
“It’s a very weird thing to say, because I obviously was moving. And then towards the end of Block 3, I got cramp and my muscles were seizing up.
“It was really hard to move. I thought, ‘why am I subjecting my body to this?’. The whole challenge definitely taught me some things about how to keep going.”
Jack said he has been overwhelmed by the amount of support he’s received since completing his run, and how people have backed his cause.
In all, he has raised more than £6,500 for Brain Tumour Research, while his and Ella’s story has attracted plenty of media attention, including from the BBC who filmed him during the run.
“I’ve been amazed by the amount of people that have been so supportive,” he said. “A lot of it has come from complete strangers, who saw me on the news or somehow came across it on social media, and they have a loved one that had a tumour.
“They come out with lovely messages of support. The story has resonated with a lot more people than I thought it would. So, that’s been incredible, and I think, more than anything, it feels it’s my biggest life achievement simply because of the amount of people it’s inspired.
“I’ve had so many people write to me to say it’s inspired them to do a bigger run or to try an ultra. I’ve also had people be very generous and raise a lot of money. “
After completing such an impressive run and raising so much for Brain Tumour Research, you’d be forgiven for thinking that Jack would be looking forward to a well-earned rest.
But while the New Year is still less than two months old, he is already planning his next big adventure.
Alongside taking on his usual ultra runs in 2026, Jack is aiming to spend New Year’s Day 2027 covering the roughly 200kms (124 miles) from his home in Norwich to London. He’ll also, of course, be looking to raise more vital funds for Brain Tumour Research.
“I’d like to do it by sunrise of January 2, which would be within about 32 hours,” he said “It’d be cool to do something a bit novel again and try and capture people’s attention.”
One thing seems certain. Whenever Jack Syder-Mills goes running for a cause, there’ll be fireworks.
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