2024 challenges for dad who did 10K-a-day in December for Claire House

Claire House helps children who are terminally or seriously ill live a fuller life, whilst also supporting their families.

With a determination that would see lesser men crawl back to their beds in horror, dad-of-three Brad Richards has already run 10K a day throughout December for Claire House Children’s Hospice.

Braving wind, rain, and plummeting temperatures to clock up the miles to raise funds and awareness for the Wirral Charity, he even ran on Christmas Day: “I set off at two minutes past midnight with a head torch to get it done and out of the way before the kids woke up and the day overtook me,” he smiles.

“The worst was the first week when I was getting up at 5.30am and the temperatures had dropped to minus-6!”

But not content with that Brad, 39, from Chester, has set himself more epic challenges for 2024 for Claire House including:

* Four miles every four hours in 48 hours in March

* The Snowdonia Marathon in July, running around the Snowdon villages before crossing the slopes of Wales’ highest peak

And, in September, he will be competing in the Berlin Marathon.

Brad is already close to his initial fundraising target with plans to increase it to £3,500 for Claire House, and he admits: “There are people who think I’m mad.”

But he says: “For me I’d be more mad not to do it. You feel amazing when you realise what you’ve achieved.

“I am raising money for an incredible place like Claire House, I am being a role model for my kids, and I’m being the best version of me for my friends and family.”

An operations manager for the Bank of America, Brad only took up running in 2019. He says: “I spent my 20s having kids and snacking, and when I was in my 30s I realised that if I kept doing what I was doing, I would struggle to be an active dad.

“I took it upon myself to take up running and set myself a personal challenge to run a 10K which I did by March.

“I did a Half Marathon in May, and then was coerced into doing the Chester Marathon … and I realised I was really enjoying it.

“In that first year,” explains Brad, who’s dad to Charlie, 13, and Darcie, nine, from a previous marriage, and two-year-old Harriet with partner Laura, “I went from not being able to run 1K without stopping to doing a marathon by October.

“And it made me realise that if you put your mind to something and committed to it, you could make a big difference.”

Raising money for a good cause gave Brad even greater motivation: “Claire House is a local charity. I was connected to it because my sister has raised funds for them, and I didn’t want to pick a charity that didn’t resonate with me. It takes time and effort so it had to be something I was invested in.

“I have children myself and Darcie was born with a heart defect and had heart surgery at Alder Hey when she was only seven days old. Everything is fine now, it was a life-saving operation, but seeing the impact of children being in hospital for periods of time and the support that charities give to them and their families in those situations, it made sense.

“I looked into Claire House and it didn’t take long to work out they are doing some really good work with seriously ill children and their families, and you wonder what they would do without Claire House. I was fortunate to be in my situation for only a short time, and you can only imagine what it must be like to deal with that for the whole of a child’s life. It’s incomprehensible.”

As for the mammoth challenges, Brad says: “I did the 10K every day in December because lots of people wouldn’t want to do that. And I reckon people are more likely to have sympathy with you and support you when they can see you’re putting yourself through pain and pressure and trying to do something challenging to raise money and awareness.”

He adds: “There was a time in my life when I couldn’t do the things I’m doing now, because I was unfit and because I wasn’t in the best frame of mind in terms of my mental health.

“I have come out of that and seen how things can change with being committed to something; and how, through pain, you can feel empowered and better able to deal with situations, with life and its challenges, and work.

“When you put yourself through arduous tasks, there is so much to gain – for yourself and for organisations like Claire House.”

Mark Pearson, Events Fundraising Manager at Claire House Children’s Hospice, says: “Claire House simply wouldn’t exist without incredible people sky diving, abseiling, running, trekking, baking and doing a variety of wacky and wonderful things to support their local children’s hospice.

“Every penny raised keeps the doors to the hospice open and nurses in our community, caring for seriously and terminally ill children, and we are so grateful to our supporters every year.”