Ex-prisoner Connor Holland ran home from London to Salford for Christmas to prove people deserve a second chanceThe moment Connor Holland was reunited with loved ones after running home from London to Salford for Christmas(Image: Manchester Evening News)

Sixty hours, 300km and one suspected stress fracture. That’s what Connor Holland clocked up over four days as he ran from home from London to Salford to spend his first Christmas with family and friends in almost a decade.

The 30-year-old, who was jailed in 2017 for his role in a Salford gangland shooting in which an innocent man was gunned down in the street, says he took on the gruelling challenge to prove people can change. And when he injured his leg on the first day it was that message – and the support of his loved ones – that kept him going.

He said: “I went through hours of excruciating pain. On Wednesday I couldn’t run so I spent 16 hours shuffling. To be honest I gave up a couple of times because it was so debilitating.

Connor completing the last few yards of his gruelling journey(Image: Manchester Evening News)

“At one point I was in tears at the side of the road. The whole point of it, the message, was ‘keep moving forward’ so I thought ‘I can’t stop’, but I did. But then, right at that point, I saw my brother and a few of my friends. They’d come all that way to see me and bring me a coffee and a chicken sandwich.

“They were like ‘Come on, you can do it’. I couldn’t believe they had come all that way.

“The support and the messages from everyone were just unbelievable. That’s what kept me going.”

Connor pictured after completing the run(Image: Manchester Evening News)

Connor served his time in several prisons, including Strangeways and HMP Thameside in south east London. And while inside he discovered two things which helped turn his life around – fitness and religion.

He was released in April 2024 and now lives and works in London as an abseil window cleaner and fitness trainer. And, as he explained to the Manchester Evening News last week, he came up with the idea of the ‘rebirth run’ to show that ‘second chances are possible’ and that people can change their lives for the better.

And after running half the length of the country in the pouring rain, Connor arrived back at Walkden cricket club last night for an emotional reunion with family and friends.

He said: “I came round the corner and I could see everyone outside. I heard my mum shout ‘You’ve done it’ and my emotions just came flooding out.

“It was a mad feeling. It made it all worth it.”