Stepping up to support Derian House Children’s Hospice, Paul Darwin completed the Great North Run.
Paul raised more than £1,200 for the Chorley-based charity with the help of friends, family, colleagues and suppliers, plus a donation from us at Anwyl Homes Lancashire.
We have a long-standing relationship with Derian House and last year three of Paul’s colleagues, one wearing hard hat and safety boots, took part in the Great North Run for the charity.
“I’d always wanted to do the Great North Run and having turned 40 this year wanted to challenge myself while also raising money for a good cause,” Paul, who’s land director for our Lancashire region, explained.
“Anwyl Homes Lancashire have supported Derian House for a number of years, and as I have kids of my own, it felt special taking on another challenge for Derian who do such good work for so many children and families across the North West. It certainly helped with my motivation knowing I was raising money for Derian House.”
Paul suffered a hamstring injury in May and had to adjust his running style during a much-reduced training period to enable him to complete the run.
“It was my first half marathon and my training hadn’t exactly gone to plan after having a frustrating 13 weeks off over summer with a hamstring injury,” Paul said.
“I just wanted to get over the finishing line but completed the run in two hours and four minutes, which was well ahead of where I expected based on my training runs. I absolutely loved it. The crowd and the atmosphere definitely made a difference. Despite the poor weather, the route was lined with spectators cheering people on, offering sweets or fruit and holding funny signs of encouragement.”
Kerry Salmon, community fundraiser at Derian House, said: “We are so grateful to Paul for stepping up to raise money, so that we can continue to do what we do for children and young people, at this year’s Great North Run.
“We can’t thank the Anwyl team enough for their outstanding efforts – they’re really helping to make a difference to our families who receive free care at Derian House Children’s Hospice.
“It’ll cost £6million to run the hospice this year and we rely heavily on our kind-hearted supporters – just like Paul – to raise 70p in every £1 as we only receive a small amount of funding from the government.
To add to Paul’s running total in aid of Derian House go to https://www.justgiving.com/page/paul-darwin-1708521321795