A DALE father is aiming to run more than 4,000km this year in a bid to raise funds for the North East Autism Society and the Alan Shearer Centre.
Craig Huddart, from Holwick, plans to run 10km every day in 2022 and if that wasn’t tough enough, he’ll complete a half marathon every seventh day.
The 38-year-old says he was inspired to take up the challenge running 81km a week, 52 weeks of the year to fundraise for the North East Autism Society (NEAS) and the Alan Shearer Centre as he is father to autistic children.
He said: “I will be running not only to raise money but to raise awareness of children and adults with autism and other needs and disabilities.
“Some of you will know that I have children with autism and as such I really want to raise awareness (and money) that autism is something that is present every day. It doesn’t go away and is more than just an annual awareness day.
“The two charities do amazing work and help so many people, including my own family, so I thought it was time to give back.”
Mr Huddart, principal archaeologist for the North East and Scotland at Orion Heritage Ltd, is already a keen runner and aims to raise £2,500 for each of the charities.
He added: “NEAS have specialist schools and also supports adults as well. Two of our children will end up in some form of specialist school so the fundraising for us was a no brainer.
“The Alan Shearer Centre is an amazing place in Newcastle that supports people with complex disabilities. Not only do they have a great sensory facility, they also do respite care for adults and kids.”
So far, Mr Huddart has done his daily runs close to home due to the winter weather but as it improves, he is hoping to branch out and hopes to encourage others to run alongside him.
He said: “In a few weeks I’m going to South Shields Football Club and some of the team are going to run alongside me, doing laps of the pitch.
“The club have been great donating football tops and a jacket for me which is great because it gets cold running.
“I’m hoping I can get other businesses and organisations involved in running with me or donating a hat or top or running shoes as the washing machine has been on full-time since I started and it looks like I’ll be replacing my trainers every five to six weeks.”
Mr Huddart has set up two JustGiving pages, one for each of the charities, and has launched a YouTube channel where he will be uploading videos of his runs.
He added: “The idea with the YouTube channel is that if I can get 1,000 subscribers then it gets monetised and it means more money for the charities. People don’t even have to watch the videos.”
As well as the online fundraising Mr Huddart also has plans to put a donation bucket in his local Co-op store in Middleton-in-Teesdale.
Anyone wishing to donate to his epic challenge should visit www.justgiving.com/
team/runningforautism2 or www.justgiving.com/fundraising/craig-huddart2.
He has also set up a Facebook page ÂÂÂÂ- visit https://bit.ly/32ZsnZo
