Man runs from Liverpool to Bath in aid of Ben Saunders Foundation

A person who’s taking over an epic operating problem mentioned he needs to spotlight the legacy his good friend, who died from most cancers, has left behind.

Beginning the problem on Wednesday from Liverpool’s Anfield Stadium earlier than stopping off at Bristol’s Ashton Gate, 23-year-old Fin Coyle will arrive at Twerton Park in Bathtub later, elevating cash for the Ben Saunders Basis.

Arrange by 18-year-old Ben Saunders weeks earlier than his loss of life in 2020, the charity has offered holidays for younger folks with most cancers at their lodges at Cotswold Water Park, which is on the Gloucestershire-Wiltshire border.

Mr Coyle mentioned the charity had “impacted so many individuals’s lives and put smiles on their faces, particularly in such robust instances”.

Mr Coyle, who met Ben when he was 16 and enjoying for Bathtub Metropolis Academy, mentioned his good friend was “personable, pleasant and chatty”.

“We performed actually subsequent to one another on the soccer pitch. He performed centre again and I performed left again. He was at all times very a lot a frontrunner,” he mentioned.

“On the pitch he was very decided, robust, huge hearted, even when we wasn’t the largest.”

On why he determined to tackle the “vital problem”, Mr Coyle mentioned: “I selected the problem primarily as a result of Ben completely beloved Liverpool and Bristol Metropolis and him and I performed collectively in Bathtub so it simply made sense.”

“Ben – he’d in all probability say I am loopy,” he added.

Mr Coyle mentioned there had been plenty of challenges alongside the journey, particularly the warmth and trying to remain hydrated.

He additionally mentioned looking for a secure route has been a difficulty, with many footpaths being overgrown.

“I have been operating on footpaths and thru fields with cows and sheep,” he mentioned.

Mr Coyle mentioned regardless of planning the route earlier than he left at instances he has needed to detour or “chuck myself by bushes to get by”, leading to him having to do further kilometers every day.

Whereas it has been difficult at instances, Mr Coyle mentioned the amount of cash he has raised, which is over £1,700, retains him going.

“I do see the notifications come by as I run and it at all times makes me smile and it retains me going when the warmth is thrashing down on me,” he mentioned.

Nonetheless, finally Mr Coyle mentioned it isn’t about him, “it is about what the muse can do for younger households, younger kids and the way a lot they will impression their lives”.

“Highlighting the muse and what Ben has left behind is absolutely what I am attempting to do right here,” he added.

In 2023, the charity, which has raised over £750,000 and helped over 350 households, was awarded a Factors of Mild award by the then Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak.