A KEEN runner from Barnard Castle is to undertake his greatest endurance test yet when he starts running four miles every four hours for seven days.
Kevin Maughan will be battling sleep exhaustion and aching muscles as he starts his extraordinary challenge at 5pm on Saturday, June 19, in aid of the Maia Mouse Foundation.
The event marks the anniversary of completing his first marathon, which raised more than £2,000 for the charity. The foundation was started by a Barnard Castle family in memory of 11-month-old Maia Olivia Baum who died in 2016 after being diagnosed with a rare form of cancer. Mr Maughan said: “I know the people who started the charity and what they do for children who have life-limiting conditions.
“Having young children, I can imagine what families go through. I have done charity stuff before but it is not as personal as this is.”
His latest trial will see him complete the equivalent to six-and-a-half marathons.
Of his first marathon, the father-of-two said: “The first 20 miles I felt great but then I hit a wall and the last six miles felt like they went on forever.”
His new feat came about when he saw online that people had completed four mile runs every four hours over a 48-hour period and decided to take it a step further.
He added: “I don’t really know how to prepare for it. I have been out two or three times a day and I am trying to work out a routine. It will be 168 miles in total – the most I’ve done in a week previously is 40. And the most I have done in a month is 150.”
He is now hoping friends and neighbours will join in on some of the runs as they did during his marathon last year, and a friend has already agreed to support him during some of the 1am runs around the town.
Mr Maughan thanked his employer William Smith, for allowing him to undertake the challenge while still working, as well as Spectrum Prints, which provided T-shirts for the event. People can support the fundraising challenge by visiting justgiving.com/fundraising/kevin-maughan4.
![A COUNTY councillor is backing a campaign to get a pedestrian crossing in Staindrop. Frustrated parish councillors in the village summoned their county council representative Cllr George Richardson to their latest meeting to discuss several issues, including the call for a safe way to cross the A688. Earlier this year their request for a crossing was turned down by the county council’s highways officers. Parish council chairman Jonothan Raper described the reasons for the refusal as “spurious” and called on Cllr Richardson to support their campaign. He added: “One of the arguments they made was there is no clear line of desire when they studied the village – well this isn’t a clear line of desire because there isn’t a crossing, people cross whenever they can. “When the lollipop person was there, one of the things I noticed was people would walk all the way down to the lollipop person to cross the road to go to the shop or to go to the school.” He added a problem of parking at the primary school is exacerbated because people are too afraid to walk their children across the road. Cllr Richardson said he had supported previous attempts for a crossing point with the first being made about 15 years ago. He added: “We went fairly well down the road with that and they looked into it. The only recommended place was where the bus stop is and to get the visibility splays, people on the other side of the road would lose their parking. “That didn’t go down well so it just died a death.” Cllr Raper said he suspected the real reason for the officers’ refusal was the cost of installing a crossing. He added that much of the cost could be recovered from savings made on not having to employ a lollipop patrol. Cllr Raper said: “A lollipop person only provides a benefit of crossing for three hours of the day. You are getting 21 extra hours of crossing time [with a pedestrian crossing].” Cllr Richardson said he would raise the issue with the county council’s cabinet member for highways, Cllr John Shuttleworth.](https://teesdalemercury.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/georgeR-120x86.jpg)
