A man from Stockton – inspired by Captain Tom Moore – has achieved the feat of running 2,000 miles in a year for our Trust charity.
Ben Lamb has completed the challenge in aid of our charity – North Tees and Hartlepool Together – in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
He is half way towards his fundraising target of £2,000 – a pound for every mile he has run. Now he is hoping to appeal to his local community to help meet the final total.
Ben, who has never been a regular runner before, said: “I worked out I would need to run 40 miles a week – giving myself two weeks of leeway.
“I soon became a regular feature pounding the pavements over a 10 mile route, four times a week, with people waving and beeping at me in my red running top.
“I felt like Teesside’s Forrest Gump!”
Running through Covid
Ben even caught Covid himself in October. And rather than postpone his challenge, he continued to run in his house using a step counter.
He added: “Thanks to this, I was able to complete more than 100 miles over my isolation period!
“And then I was able to finish off for the final few weeks outside – doing my last four miles on New Year’s Eve.
“Every NHS worker from the nurses, doctors, surgeons, consultants, receptionists, administrative staff, care workers, cleaners, and many more have all put their lives on the line for us. They’ve worked ridiculously long hours and I cannot even begin to contemplate the trauma that will have been experienced.
“Every penny spent at the Trust’s charitable fund is used to enhance patient care by buying the latest cutting edge equipment and facilities to make patient experiences more comfortable and ensure all staff are properly supported.”
Ben would like the money raised to go towards supporting staff welfare and wellbeing initiatives.
To donate, visit Ben’s JustGiving page.
