While most of us tuck into our dinner, Christmas Day will see the UK’s homeless - around 4,266 people in England alone - facing another day of hunger. Yet one police officer has set out to change this, one mile at a time.
Sean Anderson is undertaking the David Goggins challenge - running 48 miles in 48 hours - to raise money for the North East Homeless charity. The money raised will fund a Christmas Eve dinner at Newcastle station for those sleeping rough.
The challenge requires participants to run four miles every four hours, day and night, with runners clocking up nearly two marathons worth of distance in two days. It takes its name from American fitness guru David Goggins, who is a former Navy Seal.
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The self-confessed non-runner is currently enduring downpours of rain, loss of appetite and arthritic pain whilst pursuing different routes from his home on England’s North-east coast.
The Northumbria-based police officer said in a Facebook post: ‘I got the idea off a friend who recently completed the challenge and when I followed his story it seemed pretty brutal!
The run is ‘brutal’ for all participants. Dylan Morrissey, Professor of Sports and Musculoskeletal Physiotherapy at Bart’s and the London NHS trust, said: 'it's a very onerous challenge, and not one I would advise people to take on without having done a lot of training.
'I hope that he [Anderson] will be fine...and have some good recovery in terms of sleep, nutrition, hydration and moving a bit in the days afterwards. People do amazing things.'
Anderson said his own awareness of the homelessness problem in Newcastle City Centre, as well as increasing demands on food banks due to the pandemic, inspired his decision to run the 4/4/48.
Donations of £4.99 to North East Homeless will fund a Christmas dinner. Anderson has surpassed his initial fundraising target of £250 pounds by 736 per cent, with his just giving page receiving £1,841 - and an outpouring of support.
