‘I’ll mostly be powered by caffeine and a dream!’
A former professional ice hockey player and trainee paramedic from Hull is aiming to run 94 miles in a day for a gruelling fundraiser. Dave Good, 27, is poised run the astonishing distance next month.
Raising funds for the Movember charity, he hopes to complete the run in less than 24 hours, fuelled by support from his parents Sue and Jon Good and his pals, some of whom are actually joining him for huge chunks of the planned route. Dave is no stranger to tough fundraisers, having completed a few long runs for charities over the years, including one event which saw him complete two circuits of the three Yorkshire Peaks.
As a former professional ice hockey player, Dave definitely has the fitness levels needed for the run. He played for Hull Stingrays for a number of years as goalkeeper, touring the country in clashes with other teams, before moving to refereeing ice hockey at the top level in the UK and internationally.
Last year, Dave was the University Of Hull student ambassador for Movember, helping the men’s health charity to raise thousands of pounds towards its mission to raise awareness and funds for men’s health issues, including prostate cancer, testicular cancer, and mental health and suicide prevention.
Dave owns and runs the popular pub The Lion & Key in the Old Town with his wife Ella, also 27, while also training to become a paramedic, and hopes all of his punters as well as family, friends, and the wider Hull community, will back him for a cause close to his heart.
Dave is due to set off from Sheffield Arena – where the Steelers clash with Nottingham Panthers – on the evening of November 29. All being well, he’ll arrive at Hull Arena around 22 hours later, where Hull Seahawks will take on Bristol Pitbulls.
He said he picked the route, travelling between the two arenas, to represent how ice hockey has played a large part in his life. From the age of 17 he played in goal for the Stingrays, also playing at national and level before becoming a referee when the Stingrays team came to an end.
He stopped playing and refereeing to focus on university studies and running a pub, but he has maintained his commitment to sporting fundraisers.
Dave, of Hessle, who has worked in the pub for five years and took over the running of the hostelry with his wife last year, said: “I came up with the idea when I scrolling online and came across a piece which said there were 94 male suicides every week in the UK.
“I’ve not fact checked that any further – I think the Movember charity had posted it or someone else had done a similar run.
“I try to do something stupid to raise money every other year, and I thought ‘that’ll make good run’. I’ve done ultra runs before and I did two laps of the Yorkshire Three Peaks last year, which was 50 miles.
“I used to play for the Hull Stingrays when they were around back in the day, so I thought Sheffield to Hull is 60 miles, so I fudged it around to make it 94 miles.
“When I was playing ice hockey we always did stuff for Movember, with Movember jerseys, so it’s a charity that’s close to me. I thought that would be a good charity to raise money for now.
“I always think if it sounds stupid enough to sound like a bad idea people will donate towards it!
“22 hours is the plan – I’ve got plans on Friday so need to get it out the way! In all seriousness, my parents are joining me and are looking at hiring a camper van for the weekend, to meet me every five to 10 miles to give me some food and water. That way I don’t have to take 100 miles-worth of food with me which would be a nightmare.
“I might get a power nap in now and again but I’ll mostly be powered by caffeine and a dream, which is how I run day-to-day anyway.
“I have a Just Giving page, but I’ve not set myself as target. If I get £500 I’ll be happy. Anything towards the Movember charity is a good thing. It gets the conversation going.
“I work in a pub in Old Town and I have a pretty decent, big curly moustache and it certainly gets the chat going in there too.”
He added: “I’m looking forward to the run – I’ve got friends joining me, two of whom are doing 20 miles each, my wife is doing 10 miles, my dad is going to bike some with me. So a lot of it a bit of run and get to see and chat with my mates.
“That’s the point of Movember. It’s about having conversations.”
To make a donation, visit Dave’s Just Giving page here.
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