Man’s gruelling challenge to raise £16,000 for foundation
ANDY Robertson is no stranger to putting his stamina to the test for charity, but his most recent challenge has proved to be the most gruelling.
The 41-year-old has completed numerous challenges for the Charlie and Carter Cookson Foundation which include an ultra marathon and running 120 miles for 27 hours straight.
But his most recent challenge put his mind and body to the test as he ran and cycled from Lands End to John O’Groats to raise money for a charity set up in memory of the South Shields brothers. The ex-RAF serviceman, who has toured Afghanistan and Iraq was touched by the plight of Sarah and Chris Cookson who tragically lost their first son, Charlie, when he was just two, and their second son, Carter, died when he was just 25 days old.
Andy, of Gosforth, said: “I’ve trained and trained and then packed myself on to a train to St Ives and travelled down to the cliffs of Lands End where I began my Andys 40 in 40 Le jo g run.
“In essence a 1,200-mile run, spanning 31 days from Lands End to John O’Groats, roughly speaking, 40 miles per day sometimes close to two marathons per day, every day for 31 days, sometimes sleeping wild at the end of the day to boot. When I started it was -5C in St Ives. It was until around day 9 and that was when I started to mention pain in my shins. Over the next couple of days this gradually began to worsen.
“Eventually, upon arriving in Wales, at this point, walking the distances I had originally scheduled to run, I had to give in and seek out the nearest RAF camp where I saw a medic. The prognosis there was not good and I was told I had shin splints. The shin bone is one of the strongest bones in the human body yet I was told further attempts to run without significant rest would likely cause my shin to eventually break in two.”
But the dad of three was determined not to be defeated and one of his friends transported a bike to Wolverhampton and decided to finish the challenge by cycling the remaining distance.
After a rest, Andy decided to finish off with a half Iron Man which saw him swim 1.2 miles in a loch, cycle 56 miles and run 13.1 miles.
The £16,000 raised will be donated to the CCF which provides financial support to families with seriously ill children.