A DALE resident who turned daily exercise into a charity effort has raised a few quid
for a good cause while shedding a few pounds in the process.
Peter Dixon, who runs the Funny Way To Be comedy club, took to the great outdoors during the Covid-19 lockdown when his planned summer shows were all cancelled.
And while the most stringent lockdown restrictions have eased and Mr Dixon has been able to start staging comedy evenings again, he carried on exercising and signed up for the Walk All Over Cancer challenge.
Organised by Cancer Research UK, supporters were asked to complete at least 10,000 steps every day throughout September.
It was a challenge Mr Dixon accomplished with a final walk from his home in Lartington across the County Bridge and into Barnard Castle.
He said he had exceeded his own expectations during the month, covering 190 miles – about 50 more than he had envisaged.
“It was great,” he said. “I was out every day, although when working on a show, it meant one or two late night finishes – but seeing the
likes of the castle and The Bowes Museum lit up was fantastic.
“I averaged about 13,500 steps per day during September. It was more than I thought I would do.”
He added: “There was never any point when I thought about not doing it and I am still driven by getting fit and the dieting side of things.
“I will continue. I will be back out again tomorrow.
“It is only when you do it every day that I realised
how little I was doing beforehand.”
Mr Dixon, who charted his efforts on social media, said the daily walks had also reacquainted him with some parts of the dale he had forgotten or not visited in years.
“The walks I liked the best all seemed to involve water. One of the nicest was down by the river in Cotherstone. It was fantastic,” he added.
“I had also not been along the river to Egglestone Abbey for a while and the routes
up and around Hury were great.”
Mr Dixon’s efforts netted £330 for Cancer Research UK – more than twice the target he had set himself.
His online fundraising page remains open and anyone wishing to donate, can find details at www.facebook.
com/donate/2734874376834309.
