A father-of-two ran 496 miles in January, equivalent to almost 19 marathons, to raise funds for Alzheimer’s Society.

Oakley's Tom Vincent, 40, ran one mile on January 1, and then increased his distance by a mile a day for the 31 days of January.

He set himself the aim of completing his daily run before his children left for school each morning, often setting off as early as 3am or 4am.

Oxford Mail: Tom Vincent on a run with his dog BentleyTom Vincent on a run with his dog Bentley (Image: Alzheimer’s Society)

Despite severe weather and injuries, Mr Vincent exceeded his original fundraising goal of £1,500, raising £2,880 for his company’s chosen charity.

Mr Vincent has previously completed Ironman triathlons and Marathon des Sables, a multistage marathon race across Sahara.

But he found his latest endeavour, which was suggested by a colleague, the "hardest of them all".

He said: "It started quite easily, but it quickly got to the point where it was a challenge logistically and physically.

"I had to travel to Edinburgh for work on January 9, with my flight leaving at 8am. As a result, I had to get up at 3am and run nine miles before heading to the airport."

As he approached the latter days of the month, fatigue kicked in.

He said: "On day 22, I felt particularly low. It took all of my effort to get out of the front door at 4am and run.

"Once I completed that day, I was able to focus on the day ahead and take it day-by-day."

He suffered injuries to his Achilles, knee and thigh, and braved two storms, but said he just focused on "putting one foot in front of the other."

He said: "My wife and young children initially thought I was mad to even be considering this challenge."

He was joined on several of his runs by his friends and family, and is now recovering from a stress fracture in his femur.

To support Mr Vincent and Alzheimer’s Society, donations can still be made via their JustGiving page.

Alzheimer's Society community fundraiser, Siobhan Marsh, said: "Not every challenge is as mentally, and physically, draining as Tom’s.

"He has certainly been put through his paces.

“Dementia is the UK’s biggest killer. One in three people born in the UK today will develop dementia in their lifetime.

"Alzheimer’s Society provides vital support to people living with dementia, funds ground-breaking research, and campaigns to make dementia the priority it should be.

"Each hour people generously give to fundraise for us, every event they take part in, every pound they donate, they’re making a life-changing difference to people living with dementia."