Running Away

Meet the man going the extra mile to support his favourite football team

Burnley FC fan Scott Cunliffe is running to all his team’s away games this season

team’s next away game – at the Emirates, Arsenal’s home ground, less than 10 miles from Wembley. ‘ I’m having to run 450 miles in 14 days,’ says Scott. ‘ I did think about staying in London but my mates said, “No, the draw is the draw.”’

In fairness, Scott now knows the route to London like the back of his hand. ‘ Buxton, Derby, Leicester, Northampton, Leighton Buzzard, London – that’s pretty much it,’ he says. ‘ Four or five months ago, I had no idea about this stuff.’

Now he’s become a small-town connoisseur with a list of his favourite food and watering holes. There’s the brewery in Buxton where he’ll enjoy a hard- earned pint, or the chippie in Northampton if he fancies a change from his service-station diet of a sandwich, packet of crisps and can of Coke.

He’s also edited and refined the kit he’s carrying – including cutting his toothbrush in half to save weight. ‘ I don’t carry any soap, as I can get that in the B& Bs I’m staying in, and I dry my running clothes on the radiator overnight. I’m about 11st in my undies, 12st with the backpack.’ Scott recently had a chat with Burnley’s manager, Sean Dyche, who was full of praise for his challenge. However, Scott believes his running philosophy is the polar opposite of Dyche’s managerial style. ‘ Dyche is all about getting the maximum effort from his players,’ says Scott. ‘ Ultrarunning is all about expending the minimum amount of energy. You have to save something for the next day. You can’t think, “I’ve got 10 miles to go, I can get there ahead of schedule.” You have to remind yourself, “Hold on, don’t put your foot down.” That’s why I have two rules: get to the game on time, and save something for the next run.’

While most of his miles are run alone, Scott has had some company along the way. ‘ I had four people run all the way to Man City with me, and another four people come to the Man United game,’ he says. ‘A lot of these people had never run regularly before, so it’s nice to think I’m inspiring them in some way.’

ONE BIG TRIBE

Scott’s also gained some high-profile admirers. Former spin doctor and avid Burnley fan Alastair Campbell accompanied him during the final miles of his away trip to Arsenal, and Scott was also invited to attend the BBC Sports Personality of the Year awards in 2018. Perhaps the greatest reception, however, has been from the supporters of other football clubs.

‘ I haven’t had anyone say a bad word to me,’ says Scott. ‘ Football is much more a force for unity than it is division. Football supporters are more like one big tribe than lots of little tribes.’

Even so, there have been many times when ‘ Running Away’ has been a lonely business. Having run 230 miles to Burnley’s season opener, away to Southampton, Scott arrived at the ground the night before to no fanfare. ‘The only person there was a security guard,’ he says. ‘ He was, like, “You did what?” I said, “I’ve just run here from Burnley.” Then I went to the pub and had a pint on my own.’ Who’d be a football fan, eh?

To donate to the Runaway Challenge, visit therunawaychallenge.org