The 67-mile message of love one runner left around Manchester

A Chorlton runner has been hailed 'amazing' and an 'inspiration' after he ran 67 miles on the anniversary of the Arena, drawing an incredible pattern along his route.

Nathan Rae decided to map out his route so that he would run in a heart shape around Manchester, before including 'MCR' through the middle.

He set out first thing on Tuesday 22nd May, at the start of a day of remembrance for the people of Manchester.

Along his mammoth route, he was joined by friends, family and fellow runners all keen to show support and unity on an emotional anniversary.

"A year ago when the attacks happened, it was just sickening to see what was happening, but what happened in the days and weeks following on Manchester came together so incredibly, I wanted to do something to commemorate that spirit.

"I run lots of long distances already, but I decided to do this to hopefully bring a smile to people's faces.

"I looked at the map to try and find the shape I wanted to take. I wanted to run past Manchester Arena, the A&E units and hit the landmarks in Manchester as well so I finally settled on that route.

"Finishing was crazy. Normally you've run for hours and hours on your own, but with this some people joined me for 20 miles and I finished with friends, it just felt amazing to finish.

"I didn't want it to just be me running from place to place with no significance so I wanted to run past the fire stations and the A&E units and to maybe see some of the staff who'd helped there.

"The best moment were meeting people who had just seen what I was doing. There was a little lad called Alfie who had asked his dad to let him run with me so he came along for about 500m.

"It was just amazing, that feeling of community when you were running."

He planned his route, starting in Chorlton, so he would pass by Manchester Arena at 10:31 - exactly one year since the atrocity of the bombing.

He - along with friends - joined thousands in a minutes silence as bells rang out across the city.

He finally reached his finish point after 1am this morning, to cheers from friends who joined him for the final stretch of the run.

Today, while he might be tired and sore, the messages of support and congratulations are flooding in to remind Nathan of what he achieved.

He took on the challenge to help to raise money for the North West Ambulance Service.

To donate to his page, head to: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/heartmcr