Mike's challenge to raise cash for Doncaster's St John's Hospice

Mike,43, chose the 151 kilometres target because it was the combined age of his parents Bob and Shirley, from Kirk Sandall, when they passed away - mum in 2019 and dad in June this year.

A branch manager with pumping solutions business, Selwood, he will need the stamina of Forest Gump as he runs the back-to-back equivalent of a staggering 3.6 marathons, starting off at Harlington, near Doncaster on Friday, October 22, 2021, then haring along the Trans Pennine Trail to his finishing point on the east coast at Hornsea the following day.

A seasoned marathon competitor, who lives at Hemingbrough, near Selby, Mike said: “I’m currently in training with a view to completing the long-distance run in the next few weeks, with a target of raising £1,510 for St John’s - £10 for every year of mum and dad’s life.

“I’ve linked into the 75th anniversary celebrations of Selwood, as this year they are planning to raise £75,000 for charity. They are supporting my challenge and I also have set up a donation page for anyone else who would like to contribute.

“If I can average just under 10 mins a kilometre I will be on track. It’s a big challenge but I’m up for it. It’s the least I can do to repay the hospice for the fantastic care mum received there before she died. She said it was like staying at a five-star hotel.”

Mike will be cheered on by his wife Anita, a nurse at York Hospital’s Neonatal Unit, and customers at Momma Brown’s, the bakery in Hemingbrough which the couple own.

Hospice fundraiser Lindsey Richards said: “What an amazing feat to undertake to help St John’s, we can’t thank Mike and his Selwood colleagues enough for their support and commitment.”

Link to Mike’s donation page: Selwood’s 151km Run

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