Steve Blackford is doing the Great North Run in the glamorous dress on Sunday
An East Yorkshire dad who will be running a marathon in memory of his greatly missed daughter now has the perfect outfit, with the help of children from a theatre group. Steve Blackford, from Bridlington, is running both the Great North Run and the Yorkshire Marathon as “Dame Lady Pap-Poon”.
The name was inspired by his youngest daughter, Scarlet, who “used to call me that when she was little”, he said. Steve’s eldest daughter, Chelsea Blue Mooney, had struggles with her mental health and tragically passed away aged just 17 in 2021.
Chelsea Blue was passionate about performing arts, a hobby shared by her sisters, Scarlet and Madison, who are members of Y PERFORM Musical Theatre Group. Steve has described the group as a “second family” and a place to “escape the heaviness of grief”.
Steve rummaged through many charity shops and the YMCA Theatre Scarborough’s fancy dress room to find the perfect Panto Dame dress, with children at Y Perform having the final say. He will wear it at the Great North Run on Sunday, September 7.
The stunning outfit includes a blue wig, a polka dot dress with matching hair bow, bright yellow tights, trainers, and a bright pink feather boa. The reveal went down well, with one friend commenting it was “the best I’ve seen you look you in years”.
At sea for weeks at a time for his job, Steve said it has been incredibly difficult trying to train for both runs. He said: “I’ve not been able to do a lot of training on the ship.
“I’m Second Mate on an offshore support vessel and we work cargo at the offshore platforms a lot, which can be most of the day. On ships the sea has to be really calm to be able to run on a treadmill and, as you know, the North Sea isn’t the calmest place to be.
“So I just train when I can. Sometimes a full week can pass without been able to get on the treadmill at all.”
The day after the Great North Run, Steve is back a sea for a month. When he comes home from that period, he has just a week before the Yorkshire Marathon on Sunday, October 19.
So far, Steve has raised nearly £1,300 for Y PERFORM. His original target was £1,000 and the money will be used for props, costumes, stage sets, theatre hire, and materials.
Steve is still accepting donations on his Just Giving page, where he shared the poignant reason behind the fundraiser. He wrote: “On April 12th, 2021, our beautiful daughter Chelsea Blue, just 17 years old, tragically passed away after a long and heartbreaking battle with her mental health and an eating disorder.
“Losing Chelsea devastated our family. But doing fundraising for Charities and Clubs like Y Perform helps us keep Chelsea Blue’s memory alive while helping others.
“Chelsea had a deep love for singing, dancing, and performing. Being on stage lit her up inside – it was where she felt most alive, most herself.”