No lazy Sunday for ultra marathon man Steven
DORNEY: A man from Burnham has taken on an ultra-marathon in a bid to raise funds for a 13-yearold from Reading who is battling cancer.
Steven McDonald embarked on two marathons, running 52.4 miles around Dorney Lake for 11 hours, between 8am and 7pm on November 22.
His fundraising will help contribute towards the money needed for Charlie Ilsley to receive life-saving treatment in Mexico.
Charlie has previously had cancer three times and been in remission, but Steven explained that it has now ‘come back with a vengeance’ and this is ‘really his last chance’.
Steven set up a JustGiving page with the initial target of raising £1,000, but this has now been exceeded with the total standing at more than £3,400.
The 29-year-old was also supported by his wife Ashleigh during his challenge, who organised the food preparation, kept him motivated and also ran a quarter of the distance with him.
Steven said: “It feels great. I've met his parents, and they were just over the moon. It's unthinkable really that someone could potentially lose their child because of money. It shouldn't really happen. So the fact that I was able to help is, yeah, it's made me feel good.
“The fact that people were able to dig deep in uncertain times, there's no words for it really, it was really humbling and just blew me away that some people donated like £100, £200, which is just crazy.”
Visit justgiving.com/ crowdfunding/steven-mcdonald-1 to see Steven’s page.
A JustGiving fundraiser page has also been set up on behalf of Charlie’s family.
This can be viewed by visiting: justgiving.com/crowdfunding/teamcharlie2020