Robin Hood Half Marathon 2026 draws thousands of runners including those with powerful personal stories

From the Newshound archive · first published 28 September 2026.

Darren Coates, 45, crossed the finish line of the Robin Hood Half Marathon on Sunday after training for the 13.1-mile race to help him cope with the trauma of sitting through three months of public inquiry evidence into his father's murder. Ian Coates, 65, was one of three people fatally stabbed by Valdo Calocane in Nottingham in the early hours of 13 June 2023. Darren is raising money for Huntingdon Academy, where his father worked as a site manager and caretaker for seven years.

Calocane, who stabbed Ian Coates alongside students Barnaby Webber and Grace O'Malley-Kumar, is serving an indefinite hospital order after pleading guilty to manslaughter on grounds of diminished responsibility.

The statutory Nottingham Inquiry heard from 164 witnesses over 14 weeks, exposing failures and missed opportunities by the NHS and police despite Calocane being sectioned four times before the killings.

Darren ran alongside Grace O'Malley-Kumar's mother and the inquiry's legal team, and hopes to raise £50,000 for his father's school.