A firefighter from Kent has put his best foot forward in order to raise funds for The Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust (PAHT) Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.
The unit provides intensive, high dependency and specialist care for sick newborn babies, according to their needs.
Marc, aged 41, undertook the gruelling challenge to run one extra mile each day throughout February and has surpassed his fundraising target, raising an astonishing £32,376 for The Princess Alexandra Hospital Charity and Young Minds.
Marc said: “I am truly humbled and overwhelmed at the support I have received and so grateful to everybody who has donated to this worthy cause.
“Long-term family friends gave birth to their beautiful baby Ralph ten and a half weeks early. The unit provided great care and aftercare to Ralph for eight weeks. More recently, our friends gave birth to another beautiful boy called Sam who was six and a half weeks early – he is receiving great care from the unit too.
“I ran one extra mile every day for the 28 days in February. On day one, I ran one mile and on day two, I ran two miles and so on. By the end of February, I ran a staggering 406 miles, which is just over 15 marathons. This is definitely the hardest challenge I have set myself and gave it my all with the support of family, friends and kind donations from local people.”
Mari-Louise White, head of fundraising for The Princess Alexandra Hospital Charity said: “A huge thank you to Marc for raising an incredible amount of money that will enhance patient care and purchase special equipment for the neonatal unit.
“Marc’s generosity doesn’t stop there – he also took part in last year’s virtual London Marathon and raised nearly £6,000 for the neonatal unit. With the kind donation, we hope to purchase a phototherapy machine that helps to break down the bilirubin (a yellow substance found naturally in the blood), and reduces jaundice in newborn babies.
“The donation has made a real difference for our youngest patients and our people.”