Ted aims to help people getter miles fitter
PEOPLE are being asked to help Lancashire go around the world one mile at a time in Ormskirk tomorrow as part of Your Mile Your Way Day.
The day kicks off with a Royal Mile at Coronation Park on Friday, May 18 – people are being invited to walk, jog, hop, skip, cycle, cartwheel or scooter their mile at 1pm before a traditional tea and scone to celebrate the Royal Wedding the following day.
There’s also the chance to a dance a mile with a spot of outdoor Line Dancing at 2pm on the park’s bandstand.
The aim of Your Mile Your Way Day is to encourage at least 24,901 people to pledge a mile each, which adds up to going around the world once.
The initiative is being supported by the comedian Ted Robbins — star of Phoenix Nights — who shed more than four stone and became a gym regular after an on-stage heart attack.
Ted, who launched the campaign, said: “It took a cardiac arrest for me to look at my life differently.
“But during my recovery I started doing short daily walks which doctors recommended to get my strength back up. I started off doing a walk around the hospital ward, then a 15-minute walk, then half an hour, and now I have built up to a couple of miles.
“I would love to eventually do a fundraising walk or jog.
“The great thing is, I enjoy it and I look and feel younger than I have for ages.”
Your Mile Your Way is being co-ordinated by Lancashire County Council as part of its Active Lives and Healthy Weight programme and leisure providers which provide the programme in each area will run activities on May 18.
A range of free activities is planned or people can do their own thing – as long as they remember to pledge their mile via the website www. yourmileyourway.co.uk