A Cumbrian man has completed a mammoth-sized running challenge during which he raised thousands to help buy Christmas presents for families in need.
Joe Kirkup, of Longtown, came up with the idea four years ago to donate presents to families who cannot afford them at Christmas.
“I’ve always been in a fortunate position, and I decided to put a status on Facebook to see if any families needed help.
“It took off really well."
He’s always self-funded it, but this year he wanted to make it a challenge.
The challenge saw him run 10 5k runs from November 22 to 24, effectively five kilometres every five hours
Understandably, he’s feeling tired, but proud of his achievements.
“I feel alright, my legs feel heavy now, but I said to myself before I started that running with a bad foot and getting out of bed isn’t hard.
“There are harder things going on in the world like not having the finances to provide for your children,” Mr Kirkup said on what motivated him to keep going throughout the difficult challenge.
“With the training I had leading up to it, and a plan from my mate Josh Dawson which he gave me free of charge, it meant that when I did my run, my body was alright—it was manageable.”
He said he raised a total of £5,660, including the £4,620 on JustGiving, but expects the total will reach £6,000 soon as donations keep coming.
He will soon work out the budget, and explained that he’s in touch with three schools—Langholm, Longtown, and Silloth.
Longtown is local to him, and the other two are in towns he’s played rugby at as part of their respective local teams.
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“I’ll be in touch with the schools, they’ll let me know what is needed, and then I’ll just give them the money, and they can sort it from there - it’s totally confidential.”
He said the money will be given straight to the school once a budget is received, and from then he has no knowledge of who gets a present to protect the anonymity of the families in need.
The online fundraiser is still active - to access it, click here.
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