Fitness enthusiast and fundraiser Adam Dixon aims to raise £4,000 for charities – and is calling upon the people of Hull to wave him on his way
A superfit fundraiser is calling upon the people of Hull to rally behind him when he sets off on a 215 mile run across the whole length of the Transpennine trail. Adam Dixon will tomorrow morning, Monday August 18, set off from Hornsea on seven days of ultra marathons, running around 30 miles every day on his way from Hull to Southport.
He revealed he only decided to carry out the arduous trek eight weeks ago and – even more astonishingly – he says it’s designed to be a recce for a different fundraiser he and others will take part in next year! Adam, running and challenge manager at Alder Hey Children’s Charity in Liverpool, is taking on the mammoth seven ultra marathons in seven days to raise money for three charities.
The charities include Alder Hey Children’s Charity, where he works and gets to see the impact of how money benefits the 450,000 patients that are treated every single year, and the Owen McVeigh Foundation, which supports children and families in Liverpool who are suffering from cancer. The third charity is Rainbow Hub, a charity offering diverse services to brighten the lives of disabled children, young people and their families, where a friend’s little boy attends.
In the weeks building up to the big event he has been pushing himself through gruelling training runs, including regular 15 mile and 20 mile runs. Yet Adam is no stranger to sporting fundraisers, having raised thousands for various charities over the years by taking part in events including the London Marathon and Liverpool Marathon, a 24-hour workout, the Conquer Coniston challenge, the London to Paris cycle challenge and a 335 cycle ride from London to Amsterdam.
Five years ago Adam, who lives with his partner Hannah and their one-year-old son Ezra, also ran 306 miles – more than 11 marathons – in one month alone. He and two friends ran the corresponding day in km throughout the month of July, which meant they ran 1km on July 1, 2km on July 2, and so on until they were running 31kms on July 31, all to raise funds to enhance inpatient and community mental health services at Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust.
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For this latest challenge, he said he’s hugely thankful to have accommodation donated by The Hayloft B&B in Hornsea, as well as donated bed and board at two other stops. He is hoping kind hoteliers will step in to put him up on Tuesday, when his daily finish line will be Hirst Courtney, and on Thursday when he’ll end the day in Glossop.
He’ll be setting off on his own on Monday at 8am, and hopes a few friendly faces might turn out to wave him off – and make a donation to help him reach his £4,000 target.
Adam, from Liverpool, said: “I’m raising money for three children’s charities, three very worthwhile causes – I’m always trying to do stuff to fundraise for anyone really, just to give a little back. I see the impact of what the Alder Hey does every day, and I think that if I’m in a position to help I always will.
“Sport and fitness is my life, everything revolves around it. I’ve just had a little boy and when he was born I said to my partner that I can’t sacrifice my fitness, and she’s the same. We live a very active lifestyle.
“For me, it gives me a bit more clarity in the day. I can think a bit better. Once I exercise I’m a better person, and it sets me up for the day. I’m always running and always in the gym, and my partner and I take our little lad to the gym when we need to, he loves it, sensory overload for him.
“I am ready for this run. I only decided eight weeks ago I was doing it! The idea came about because at Alder Hey we’re looking at doing an event next year which will hopefully see us break a world record, to have the longest run in a mascot costume.
“Alder Hey’s mascot is Oli the elephant and we’re planning to do a team relay – 20 teams which will do a 10-mile segment each of the Transpennine trail, then pass the mascot onto the next team to do another 10 miles. It will be a continuous run between 36 and 48 hours depending on how long the teams take to run the distance.
“So, I said we need to make sure it’s safe, so I’ll go out and do a recce of the route! I wasn’t really thinking of the magnitude of the challenge! It’s only the last week when I’m been thinking, ‘oh wow this is quite long’.
“But when I go into these challenges I always think of the last five miles – what it’s going to be like, how I’m going to feel, the people I’m going to see. That’s my main focus on training runs and I’ve been getting quite emotional to be honest.
“I know I’m going to do it. I know I’m going to be hurting along the way, but I like the pain because I like the mental battle you have with your body, the physical and mental side of it, and I can see what the finish will look like and that’s what’s going to get me through the next seven days.”
Adam’s current fundraising total stands at £1,416 and you can make a donation on his GoFundMe page here.