RUNNERS in Bolton turned out to give a charity champion – who is taking on an incredible 401 marathons in 401 days – a warm Lancashire welcome.

Ben Smith was in town for his 145th 26 mile run and thanks to the power of social media he was met by a group cheering him on.

Firefighter Alex Sugden even mapped out a route for him so he could take in the history and landmarks of Bolton. Mr Sugden, aged 41, from Sharples, who took part in the gruelling Iron Man triathlon last year, said: “I just found out about Ben and what he was doing on the internet. I like running and made contact with him to join him as he did the marathon. I did the route for him because I wanted him to see Bolton because we have some wonderful places.”

The run started from Leverhulme Park in Breightmet, before going past Fred Dibnah’s old house in The Haulgh, past Bolton Parish Church through Churchgate, to the Town Hall, via Le Mans Crescent, to the Macron Stadium, past the old Horwich Loco Works, to Queens Park, past Bolton Rugby Club to Moss Bank Park, Smithills and back to Leverhulme Park.

Mr Smith, aged 33, is raising money for charities including Stonewall and Kidscape. He said: “By the end I will have completed 10,500 miles which is the equivalent of here to Sydney – and if I could run across water I would now be at the Afghan Pakistan border.”

Mr Smith, who lives in Bristol, added: “Through running I have friends all over the world, and people I have never met turn up to support me – running on your own is so tough.”

He added: “I never wake up saying I don’t want to do it, but my confidence wavers and I think can I do it. But once I am on the starting line that’s it and there is no stopping.”

Mr Smith, who today will be running a marathon in Wigan, said: “I really enjoyed running in Bolton, it's quite hilly in places! The weather was okay and it was a nice route. The people were fantastic really friendly. Warrington Running Club joined us as well. I have run with 2,700 people over the 145 days."

Mr Smith said he wouldn't be able to do this without the support people from across the country, who are letting him park in their driveways, offering him warm meals all through finding out about on social media.