Thirteen-year-old Tom Taylor of Penrith is planning an epic paddle-powered challenge this Christmas to raise money for life-saving charity BEEP Doctors.
Tom, who is a pupil at Ullswater Community College and a member of Penrith scouts, has come up with the idea of running 26.2 miles around the streets of Penrith, while portaging his kayak.
As BEEP enters its 30th year of saving lives by providing a team of specialist doctors to support the emergency services with specialist pre-hospital care, the charity’s need for funding support is greater than ever. Tom has been touched by the amazing voluntary work that BEEP do, recognised recently by them achieving the King’s Award for Voluntary Service.
Rather than run a marathon, he decided to take inspiration from a favourite YouTuber, Beau Miles and do a marathon over 24 hours, doing one mile an hour, and extra here and there to make up the full 26.2 miles.
This means that each hour Tom will be mobile for 20 minutes and resting for 40 minutes before going out again. Tom has been training in the streets of Penrith in recent days and turning a few heads as he runs and walks with his kayak. He has attracted some sponsorship including corporate sponsorship from Wild River, a local paddlesports company.
Sean McGrath, company director, said: “I’m delighted to sponsor Tom in his challenge. Not many people would choose to take their kayak for a walk, and certainly not over 26.2 miles. That sort of distance is reserved for some of the toughest Alaskan challenges. BEEP Doctors is a fantastic local charity and we never know when any of us may require their life saving intervention. Go for it Tom!”
Cumbria BEEP chairman Dr Theo Weston said: “We are delighted that Tom is taking on this challenge to both raise money for our charity and awareness of what BEEP does in the local community. It costs around £150,000 per year to operate the charity and in our 30th year we aim to increase our rapid response ambulance cars to a fleet of four providing greater cover to the north of the county.”
Tom will take on the challenge from 9am on the 23rd December starting his last mile at 8am on the 24th.
He intends to spend some time near Penrith town centre collecting sponsorship and whilst getting his miles in.
To support Tom on his epic challenge, please head to his just giving page, www.justgiving.com/page/tomtaylor-kayak-portage-marathon
