A CROWTHORNE resident has run more than 140km in only seven days for his latest charity challenge.
Zach King, a personal trainer, was inspired to take on seven half marathons in just one week to end 2020 on a positive note.
“Because of the year we’ve all had, I wanted to spread some hope and inspiration”, he said.
“No matter how hard things are, no matter how much pain we go through, we will always come out of it on the other side.”
Mr King embarked on the first half marathon of seven on Monday, November 23, and throughout the challenge he raised money and awareness for five charities: Myeloma UK, Blood Cancer UK, Mind, Brain Tumour Research and Parkinson’s UK.
“A couple of these charities are really important to me personally,” the personal trainer explained.
“Two of my clients were a mother and her son, and her husband passed away from Myeloma in September.
“For the family, I wanted to help spread awareness as best as I can.”
And Mr King has chosen to fundraise for Mind after seeing the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on people’s mental wellbeing.
“The mental health repercussions of Covid-19 and lockdowns one and two have led to a mental health pandemic in a way,” he said.
“For a lot of people, their mental health has deteriorated gradually from March until now.
“Human beings are social creatures, so I wanted to raise money and again awareness for this cause.”
The personal trainer let his clients choose the remaining three organisations.
He added: “Because of Covid-19, so much money has gone out of these charities and I wanted to help ones which are important to me and my clients.”
So far, Mr King has received more than £700 in charitable donations, and hopes to raise £2,000 in total.
And completing the half marathons was no easy feat, he said, doing only two training runs before starting the challenge.
“Running seven half marathons is a painful process.
“You’ve got to have mental resilience, and you’ve got the physical aches and pains that come with it.”
According to Mr King, knowing that the money raised would go towards helping people was the only thing dragging his legs over the line.
And he hopes he has inspired more people to help others if they can.
“After the year we’ve had, there are still opportunities to achieve something great,” he said.
“Within the remainder of this year, we can all do something incredible.
“Before 2020 is out, try and turn something negative into a positive.”
Now, the personal trainer has already set his sights on his next fundraiser, hoping to take on the ‘Three Peaks Challenge’ next year.
To find out more about the half marathon challenge and to make a donation, visit: uk.virginmoneygiving.com/ZacharyKingCharity
