Marathon man Peter pulls off an incredible charity feat to help hospice provide care
RAISES £6K FROM 12 RUNS IN A YEAR
Even as a keen runner, this challenge has been difficult. The older I get, the longer it takes to recover. Peter Stone
A DERBYSHIRE man has completed his 12th marathon in 12 months to help raise around £6,000 for the hospice where he works.
Peter Stone, 60, director of income generation at Ashgate Hospicecare in the north of the county, notched up a total of 314.4 miles but admitted his final run had been one of the hardest.
Family, friends and colleagues were on hand to cheer him on as he crossed the finishing line at the hospice’s Chesterfield HQ.
Once he’d got his breath back, Peter said: “My final marathon was one of the hardest yet – it included 3,500 feet of ascent and a lot of offroad navigation.
“That, combined with hot weather, made for a tiring trip out. I am delighted to have completed the 12 marathons and I am so grateful for all the support I have received.
“I am responsible for the fundraising and retail teams at Ashgate who every year must generate around 70 per cent of the organisation’s income.
“I was keen to raise some funds myself – to help with fundraising and to remind me how hard our fundraisers must work to generate the money we need.
“Even as a keen runner, this challenge has been difficult. The older I get, the longer it takes to recover from a marathon so trying to cover one every four weeks has been tiring.
“Plus, there’s been runs in the rain, sleet and snow which haven’t helped matters at all!”
Peter has not just been tackling the same route 12 times. He pulled on his running shoes in Northumberland, where he completed a 50km run along a disused railway and has taken part in marathons across the country.
He added: “I wanted to fundraise for Ashgate because the charity undertakes such amazing work – offering specialist palliative and end of life care to patients with a life-limiting illness and their families across North Derbyshire.
“Ashgate is so loved by the community, and this has been apparent by the level of support I have received to date.
“I couldn’t have asked for more from everyone who has supported me and made donations – thank you all so much.”
There’s an opportunity to add to Peter’s fundraising by taking part in the hospice’s Sparkle Night Walk later this month.
The event, taking place on Saturday, September 25, is a 10km walk through Chesterfield that will help raise vital funds for the charity.
It said on its website: “We rely on the generosity of our community to raise millions of pounds each year to help fund our specialist care. With our shops having to close and our biggest fundraising events going virtual, Covid-19 has presented us with huge ongoing funding challenges.
“Help us make the 2021 Sparkle Night Walk one of our best yet so that we can continue to provide the exceptional end of life care for which we are known both on our Inpatient Unit at Old Brampton in Chesterfield and in the community. Together, we can help to raise much-needed funds at a time when the demand for our services has never been greater and our funding has never been more uncertain. Every £1 raised will make a huge difference. So, thank you for your support. We wouldn’t be here without it.
To combat the risks posed by Covid-19, organisers are planning for a staggered start to ease the mass of people across the route at the same time.
Signing up for the Sparkle Walk, which is sponsored by Toyota Vertu, costs £15. There is also an option of paying £10 to join a virtual event. For more information, visit the Ashgate website.