A MARATHON man has raced his way to raise £100,000 for charity.
David Phillips from Claverdon has dedicated nearly half of his life to running, and his goal has always been to reach the huge figure.
And the 72 year-old grandad now has cause for a celebration as he crossed the line of his 17th London marathon – after six hours and 2 minutes – and discovered he had reached his target.
This marathon he raised £9,000 towards his goal, pushing the total to more than £107,000.
All the money raised over the years has and will continue to go to the Brain and Spine Foundation.
David told the Observer: “I feel absolutely elated and over the moon knowing that others will benefit from my hard work and the generosity of others”. When I started I guessed at the figures of £100,000 I was called “mad”.
But David won’t be hanging up his running shoes just yet.
He wants to run a total of 500 marathons – and he is not far off his target, which he expects to achieve over the next two years.
He has some 20 races to go, but is pushing ever closer to his final figure.
The same week as he ran the London Marathon he also took part in the Boston marathon, and plans to take part in the Stratford and Tenby marathons over the coming months.
He said: “Raising the money is the easy bit done as I’ve still got 23 more marathons to do. I must do them so that Stratford in April 2019 will be the 500.
“The charity has also raised the stakes and won’t let me go – so the fundraising will go on.”
Visit uk.virginmoneygiving.com/team/teamphillips2017 to donate.
