A TIMPERLEY man ran his first ever marathon in Manchester to raise money for a charity helping young, aspiring Paralympians.
After a ‘training run’ at the Wilmslow half marathon two weeks before, Alistair Tanner, 41, of Westwood Avenue, began his ten race challenge at the ASICS Greater Mancheste Marathon in Trafford on April 6.
He is raising funds for the Rosslyn Park Injury Trust, established by his late grandfather, Derek Tanner, in 1981.
The trust recently donated a £6000 state-of-the-art, specialist wheelchair to former Blackburn RFC player George Claxton, who broke his neck playing.
The ‘life changing’ gift will help George, 16, fulfil his ambition to represent Great Britain in the Paralympics wheelchair rugby in 2016 in Rio.
George’s next gruelling challenge will be a 24-hour endurance relay run in Reading in June: Endure 24.
Admitting he is not particularly fast, his goal is simply “to raise as much money as I can doing something that brings me personal fulfilment.”
Finishing Sunday’s marathon in three hours and 51 minutes, he confessed he had to ‘grit his teeth’ to get through it.
He said: “It was undoubtedly the hardest thing I have ever done and I was quite emotional at the end.”
The trust provides grants and support for a range of sports as well as rugby including football, cricket, swimming, cycling, rock climbing, motorcross and trampolining.
Donations can be made at: www.virginmoneygiving.com/rpit.
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