A Suffolk man is getting ready for a gruelling challenge to raise funds for the My WiSH charity.
Josh Wright aims to run 13 half marathons in 13 days in aid of the organisation, which supports West Suffolk Hospital in Bury St Edmunds.
Josh, aged 26, a customer service manager, will start his challenge on Monday July 20 and aims to complete it by August 1.
The money he raises will go to the charity’s Butterfly Appeal, which is raising £340,000 to build a special garden area for end-of-life patients at the hospital.
This will be away from the wards so patients can spend some of their final days or hours with loved ones, including children and pets.
Raising money for the charity is nothing new for Josh as previous efforts have seen him run a half marathon with his dad, Leslie, and holding a 24-hour gaming session with friends. These raised £1,283 for the appeal.
He has also been involved with the Soapbox Challenge as part of the NHS Direct team, where he works from its site on the town’s Moreton Hall Estate, in Skyliner Way.
He and his father are also planning to run the Manchester Marathon which has been delayed until October because of the coronavirus.
Josh said: “I did a half marathon last year at the Norwich Showground and I wanted to do a bit more this year so decided on the 13 in 13 days. I’ve gone past the target of £750 and I’m now hoping to reach £1,000 which would be great.
“The 13 runs will be all round Bury from my home and all different routes, and I’ll be doing them after I’ve finished work. A few people have said they will get involved with my runs as well.
“I will be recording them and I have been posting all my training runs up to the start of the challenge.
“I tend to head towards Rougham and back as well as over to Marham Park and return.
“I’m confident of getting them all done. I have been doing 10K’s every day and I know that I can do it and if I struggle I will even crawl round!”
Sally Daniels, the charity’s appeal manager, said: “Josh is such an inspirational fundraiser. He’s takes on these crazy challenges and just works so hard to raise money for us. We really are so grateful”.
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