This Wirral PE teacher ran a charity 10k every day for a year – in bare feet!

Running one 10k can be tough, and one every day for a year is amazing – but that wasn’t enough of a challenge for Wirral PE teacher Phill Hayward.

Determined to raise funds for the Alzheimer’s Society, and awareness of the disease which took his grandad, Phill decided to tackle the daily run barefoot.

After pounding pavements and playing fields in all weathers, he’s finally completed a full 12 months of 10ks plus one extra day so he could be cheered across the finish line by pupils and staff at Our Lady of Pity Catholic Primary School in Greasby.

A GoFundMe page set up has already topped £15,000 with more donations still coming in.

Everton fan Phill, who lives in Prenton, has had huge support for his trainer-less fundraiser, including from Blues legend Seamus Coleman who sent a personal video message congratulating him on a massive achievement.

“I did my first 10k a day for a year for Wirral Mind in lockdown, in 2020,” says Phill. “That was in trainers, so last year I thought, how can I push myself a bit further? That’s why I did it in bare feet this time. 

“I ended up doing a lot of similar routes because, especially when the clocks went back, I’d be working until 4.30pm so I had to run with a head torch. I’m quite a shy person and I didn’t like drawing attention to myself so I’d go round the local field where our football team plays because I had keys and I knew there wouldn’t be any dogs or glass on there. 

“I went to Stanley Park too, just to mix it up a bit, and ran round Goodison and Anfield but I could see people looking at me with no trainers on and wondering, what’s he doing? I think they probably thought I was running away from somewhere!”

Phill says he’s thrilled to have raised so much money for the Alzheimer’s Society, but it’s equally as important to highlight the disease.

“It’s not just about fundraising, it’s about understanding what Alzheimer’s is because it’s such a big thing in society now, it’s frightening.

“My grandad’s was a slow process and it’s so cruel. Everyone knows someone who’s got Alzheimer’s or had it, it’s heartbreaking and it takes a massive toll on families. You lose them twice when they get diagnosed and then when they sadly pass you go through it all again. 

“I was incredibly close to my grandad and sadly he passed away four weeks ago.  I finished the challenge on the Monday and it was his funeral on the Tuesday so it was like he was with me, it felt like a closure.”

Knowing what a good cause he was highlighting meant Phill never once considered giving up, even when snow and ice were on the ground in winter and his feet were freezing.

Having the backing of family, friends, his school and a wider football ‘family’ also helped keep him going.

“It was obviously very tough but I’ve had such a lot of support and Everton have been unbelievable. I go to the games with my mum, we’ve had season tickets for 26 years and go home and away, and the club has always been amazing to us.

“On the last day of my 10ks, my phone was going like mad in my pocket when I was running and I just thought it was people saying good luck or congratulating me. Then when I finished the first thing people said was, ‘have you seen the message off Seamus Coleman?’ 

“Everton have been superb throughout the challenge, Jamie Carragher has too, and the Liverpool FC Foundation. It’s just a city that’s very supportive for so many people whether you’re a Blue or a Red.”

With his school now broken up for the summer holidays, Phill says he’ll be taking a break before even thinking about another fundraiser.

“I’m one of those people who can only really rest in the week between Christmas and New Year when there’s nothing on, no football, no school, and everything’s cancelled because of the weather! Otherwise I have to be busy so there’ll be something else in the pipeline I’m sure.”

You can donate to Phil’s Go Fund Me page HERE.

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