A para-athlete from Staffordshire is covering 100 miles across the month of June to raise funds for the NHS as it continues to battle the ongoing coronavirus outbreak.
Tennis player and shot-putter Gavin Yarwood from Leek is aiming to raise £1,000 for the service that has aided him during his lifetime.
“It’s all in aid of raising money for the NHS which is struggling under the weight of Covid-19,” he told Sport in Staffs.
“The NHS is one of the greatest organisations in the world, and it has helped me massively over the years.
“It cared for me in my darkest hours after a very serious accident I had in 1999. It has given me, and many others so much. Surely now is the time to give back.”
Gavin, who also plays the guitar and synth in an 80s tribute band called ‘Mixtape’, explained why he is taking on a feat of this kind for the first time in his life.
“I’d seen the 5-kilometre Run For Heroes challenge that people were doing, and decided to give it a go. I started training last week and thought I’d just do a 1k, as it would be tough going in my wheelchair – I ended up doing 5.3k.
“It was tough, but I really got into it. Because of this, I thought of trying a bigger challenge.
“The ideas I had, started with doing 5k everyday for 2 weeks, then 50k in 2 months, then 100k in 2 months. Eventually, I settled on 100 miles in a month.
“The NHS is being pushed to the limit, so I’ve decided to push myself to the limit as well.”
To donate to Gavin’s tremendous ‘Push For Heroes’ fundraiser, click here.
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