On 18th June, we welcomed Jez Allinson (aka The Running Stormtrooper) to Inzpire HQ, Landmark House. As part of our wellbeing provision at Inzpire, we regularly arrange for inspirational speakers to hold sessions with our team members on a wide range of topics – with this event possibly the most intriguing to date!
From 2016 to 2023, The Running Stormtrooper (TRS) accomplished an astounding feat, raising over £80,000 for children’s charities including Make a Wish and Spread-A-Smile – smashing the initial goal of £2000. Behind this persona is Jez Allinson, a dedicated individual who has crafted an inspiring presentation that captures his journey, right from the very beginning to his final run.
The story of The Running Stormtrooper
Jez’s story began when he secured a public ballot place for the London Marathon at the age of 40 in 2015, running for CLIC Sargeant in honour of a colleague’s child who had sadly been diagnosed with Leukaemia. He raised an impressive £1100 for his first attempt, as a regular runner before TRS was established.
Jez often quoted throughout his talk; “if you ever start to doubt humanity, just go and watch the London Marathon. Your faith will be restored.”
In 2016, he wanted to run again, and this time secured a fundraising place with Make a Wish, rather than with the public ballot – meaning that he had to commit to reaching a £2000 fundraising target for the charity. This, incidentally, was where The Running Stormtrooper was born.
To help reach his target, Jez began running out and about in a Stormtrooper costume to generate a following, with a video going viral on Facebook - reaching 2.2 million views on Lad bible! To further assist with his promo, he travelled to Pinewood Studios (where Star Wars was filmed) and asked for a photo in front of the famous sign, which turned out to be the beginning of a fantastic relationship. Jez then completed the London Marathon, raising an impressive £6,000.
In 2017, it was the 40-year anniversary of Star Wars, so Jez decided to complete a 40-mile run around Black Park, with the final mile taking place at Pinewood Studios. He also went for a world record attempt at the 2017 London Marathon; aiming for the ‘Fastest marathon completed as a Star Wars character’, alongside a £5,000 fundraising target. Jez managed to break the record with just 47 seconds to spare and in doing so, smashed his target – raising an incredible further £17,906 for Make a Wish.
In 2018, he completed a 100k run in honour of the 100th anniversary of the RAF. This took him an incredible 18 hours, but he did it! This year was also the hottest-ever London Marathon recorded; nonetheless, he completed it in full costume – even if it did take a bit longer this time around. He also launched a virtual run series, which raised an impressive £3000.
Having conquered numerous marathons and ultra runs as the Stormtrooper, Jez decided to go even bigger than he’d gone before in 2020. He set himself the challenge of completing a 1000-mile challenge, including 284 of those miles in the Afghanistan heat at 6000 feet while on deployment (in full costume, of course). In 2023, Jez undertook his final costume appearance in his beloved (and worn!) Stormtrooper outfit.
Jez’s five tenets
Dare to be different
Communication is key
Commit fully, in all aspects
Keep it fresh, continue to innovate
Simply, be polite
“If you ever start to struggle or doubt yourself, just remind yourself of your reason WHY.”
Dave Hewson, GECO Support Engineer, attended Jez’s talk. He said:
“The Running Stormtrooper captivated each of us with his inspiring talk, blending humour and determination as he recounted his incredible journey. He shared how he overcame physical and mental challenges to run marathons and raise money for charity under some extremely challenging circumstances, all the while maintaining a positive attitude.
“His dedication to raising awareness and funds for children’s charities, despite the cumbersome costume, left everyone motivated to pursue their goals with passion and perseverance.”
Dan Simmons, Director of Training and Services, said:
“This is a truly inspiring story of selfless determination. Jez’s five key tenets are relevant to any project and, indeed, to life; we all need to be a bit more stormtrooper!”
Jez, aka The Running Stormtrooper, is available to carry out his inspirational talks at other businesses if you’d like your company to take part – with every penny raised going straight to his chosen charities.
To get in touch with Jez to book your presentation, please contact him at jezallinson@gmail.com.
