RUNNING more than 85 miles across Hadrian’s Wall is just one of 30 daunting challenges a fundraiser has set himself in his bid to secure £30,000 for his local hospice.
When Anthony McDermott, of Barnes, Sunderland, turned 30 he decided to give something back to his local hospice after his father-in-law, Lewis Binyon, received treatment for bowel and pancreatic cancer there.
So Anthony, who works as an account manager for Sun FM and is a member of the Sunderland Strollers running club, set himself the challenge of raising £30,000 for St Benedict’s Hospice, in Ryhope, Sunderland, throughout 2016.
Said Anthony: “I wanted to do something a bit special with turning 30 and give something back to the hospice at the same time because they’ve been brilliant, so I came up with raising £30,000, in 30 events in my 30thyear.
Anthony’s first event entailed him running the length of Hadrian’s Wall, from Bowness on Solway to Carlisle – an 87 mile, 30-plus hour marathon feat which saw him running across an entire weekend, including having to return home for a couple of hours when his teammate Scott Baker was injured.
“I grabbed a couple of hours sleep and I could have stayed where I was, but I thought I’m just going to go and finish it. My feet were blistered to bits and we had about a seven mile detour because of the flooding in Carlisle, but it was great to finally finish on the Sunday afternoon,” he said.
Anthony has already raised more than £600 with his first challenge. Other events lined up include being waxed, a sky dive, Sunderland Half Marathon, the Great North Run, Edinburgh Marathon, a Tough Mudder and the Stadium of Light step challenge.
Catrina Flynn, fundraising manager at St Benedict’s Hospice, said: “We’re so grateful to Anthony. He’s set himself a real challenge – not only to deliver every time but also to come up with 30 ways for him to raise the money. We’ll be cheering him on every step of the way.”
Do you have a challenge for Anthony? Follow St Benedict’s Hospice on Facebook and Twitter and make your suggestions. To make a donation log onto: https://www.justgiving.com/sunderland30for30/