A man from Bearsted who was due to run the Paddock Wood Half Marathon is now taking on the challenge from his treadmill to raise money for the Heart of Kent Hospice in Aylesford.

Tom Corkery had been training for the event with his daughter Claire before it was postponed due to the coronavirus.

Now Mr Corkery wants to fulfil 13.1 mile run, only this time from his home this Sunday.

The 58-year-old said: "When we started training at the beginning of the year, I joked with my daughter that she wasn’t even born the first time I ran the Paddock Wood Half Marathon, which was 30 years ago.

"I’ve continued my training and have built up to 6.5 miles on the treadmill. We all need to play our part in abiding by the lockdown so that organisations like the Hospice, as well as the NHS, aren’t overwhelmed."

Mr Corkery decided to raise funds for the Heart of Kent Hospice after seeing the charity’s urgent appeal for funding.

The coronavirus meant the hospice had to cancel its fundraising activities and close its charity shops stopping most of its income overnight.

Also a keen golfer, Mr Corkery is aiming to raise more than £10,662, the same amount of money the hospice needs to provide care for a just one day.

Sarah Pugh, CEO at Heart of Kent Hospice said: “It means a huge amount to us that Tom has decided to set himself this Treadmill Challenge to support our emergency appeal.

"It’s an incredibly worrying time for everyone even if you are generally fit and well, but for our patients to spend it in isolation away from most of their family and friends, it’s incredibly scary and lonely and they need our support more than ever."

Sarah continued: "Since launching our appeal we have been overwhelmed by the kindness, generosity and also the resourcefulness of our supporters. The response has been incredible and we are truly humbled by the concern there is for the future of our Hospice and the commitment of local people to contribute towards the £324,300 we need to raise each month to survive.

"Families, community groups, businesses and local trusts came together to raise more than £100,000 in just a few days of our appeal. And donations continue to come in daily as inspiring supporters, like Tom, undertake significant personal challenges to raise money for us."

The Paddock Wood Half Marathon has been rescheduled for Sunday September 6 at 9.30am.

Donations can be made through Mr Corkery's JustGiving page by clicking here.

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