Issue 308 – He did it! 205 miles and hundreds of pounds raised for charity

205 miles, seven days, one man, and an awful lot of stamina. By running the incredible distance over seven days, Frome schoolteacher, Kevin Ross, has raised £1,200 for local charity Openstorytellers.

The Selwood School teacher ran 205 miles along the South West coast over seven days, raising money for the Frome-based charity along the way. He ran the equivalent of just under 30 miles each day.
Frome Times caught up with Kevin, whose 50th birthday was half-way through the charity mission, after he had finished the challenge.
“I have very sore feet and quite a few blisters!” he said. “I had actually booked the train back from Plymouth in advance so it turned into a race against time to get to the train station in Plymouth on the last day.”
Kevin stayed in hostels and bed & breakfasts during the week, borrowing ice to put on his aching feet and legs at the end of each day.
“I was running against the wind as well for a couple of the days, which obviously didn’t help. On day six I did 36 miles altogether. The last ten miles were along the edge of a group of cliffs. I was due to check in at a bed and breakfast, it was 5.30pm and I called ahead and they said I would never make it in time. So I decided to just go for it and I got there in two hours – I was exhausted afterwards!”
All in all, Kevin has raised a huge £1,200 for Openstorytellers, an inclusive company of storytellers with learning disabilities. It empowers people to discover myths and legends, and share personal experiences.
“One guy I came across, a complete stranger, donated £200 in sponsorship which was amazing. I met quite a lot of people along the way and everybody was so generous,” Kevin said. “Physically and mentally it was pretty exhausting. The proudest moment of all though was when I was thanked by the director of the charity who said it had given them all a real morale boost.”
Kevin is still welcoming sponsorship for the challenge, with all proceeds going to Openstorytellers. If you would like to support Kevin you can donate online at www.charitygiving.co.uk/openstorytellers.
Alternatively, you can donate directly to the charity at the following address: Openstorytellers, The Old Church School, Butt’s Hill, Frome, Somerset, BA11 1HR.
If you would like to know more about Openstorytellers, call 01373 888 402 or email info@openstorytellers.org.uk.