Bamber Bridge dad-of-two aims to raise £5,000 in memory of beloved goddaughter

Dan's beloved goddaughter Sophie. — Dan’s beloved goddaughter Sophie.

A dad of two from Bamber Bridge is aiming to raise £5,000 in memory of his beloved goddaughter.

Dan Paton is pushing the boundaries to fundraise for Sophie Moolman who died unexpectedly at the age of seven.

She died in March 2018 and 10 months later, Dan began a challenge, running 10km every day come hail, wind, rain, snow or sun for the whole of 2019.

He raised more than £10,000 for Rebecca House Children’s Hospice, which supported Sophie’s family following her death.

Dan, 46 began his second running challenge in Sophie’s memory in December 2023.

He is raising more funds for the hospice and the special care baby unit at Noble Hospital, only this time running just over nine miles daily to achieve a 3,500-mile target in 400 days. Dan is due to finish on 22 January 2025.

He said: “As tough as my challenge was in 2019, I felt if I was going to ask people to again support me in memory of Sophie, who would have become a teenager this year had she not been taken from us so suddenly, I had to push myself much further than last time, which is the reason for the additional miles and days to take it beyond a year.

“I must admit, it has been a struggle to find that work/life balance to enable me to keep the mileage up day in, day out. I promised no easy cheats so no walking, cycling or running on treadmills. Whatever the weather, I have to run outside.”

Dan used the couch to 5km training plan to begin running over a decade ago. He has now competed in an ultra-marathon, six full marathons, six half marathons and many shorter-distance races in the middle of his long runs.

Dan added: “From July, I have had to push even harder so instead of running a minimum of 61 miles a week, I’ve been running 65-70 miles. By doing longer weekend runs, I’m now just 28 miles behind, pretty much back to where I need to be but slightly fed up of running. The challenge has pushed me to the limits.”

He is hoping his friends at Blackburn Road Runners, the club he joined three years ago, will continue to support him and keep him company to take him up to and over the finish line in January.

To support Dan, visit his Just Giving Page.

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