A Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) apprenticeships manager who also referees professional football matches has vowed to run the equivalent of 10 marathons to raise money for NHS heroes.
Billy Baxter (51), from Inverness, decided to put his furlough leave to good use by running 262 miles in aid of NHS Charities Together.
He has been spurred on by daughter Katie, who is a trainee nurse, and his sister Pamela who is recovering from coronavirus.
He explained, “Inspired by some of the great things others are achieving right now in spite of the horrors of coronavirus, I decided to set myself a challenge to try raise some money for the NHS. I have set myself a deadline of the end of May to complete all my marathons.
“I have a reasonable fitness level as a part-time referee – but 10 marathons is undoubtedly going to be a challenge! I’ve completed four so far – this warm weather is definitely helping. I have been incredibly touched and humbled by the generous donations which have been rolling in to my Just Giving page. My aim was to raise £500, but already the total is well over £1,000. It would be fantastic just to raise as much as possible in order to help our incredibly brave doctors, nurses and hospital staff to continue to deliver their outstanding care.”
Billy’s daughter Megan uploaded the first ‘vlog’ detailing the venture on YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yiWi8oC5mFA.
Donations to Billy’s 10 marathons in May challenge can be made via this link: https://justgiving.com/fundraising/billy-baxter3
