Alan's mountain race challenge raises thousands for hospice
Alan Dowrick from Bodmin participated in The Dragons Back Race and raised £2461.90p for Children’s Hospice South West (CHSW).
The race, considered to be the toughest mountain race in the world, started from Conway Castle in North Wales, and ended at Cardiff Castle in the south of the country. It consisted of 6 days of running over rough terrain and Wales’ mountains, covering a total distance of 380km.
As well as running each day, the participants were expected to manage their kits, sleeping areas and ensure they had enough water and food to fuel them. Each day there were two checkpoints that had to be reached, which all runners had to get through to be able to continue with the race.
Along with many other runners unfortunately Alan missed the second checkpoint on day 2 of the race by 10 minutes. Despite having the opportunity to go home, Alan decided to get up every morning and continued to do half days for the remainder of the race. Over the week Alan still completed 134 miles, with 36,500 feet of elevation.
His wife, Kelly, who kept his social media pages up to date during the race, posted on his Facebook page on the 3rd day of the race saying: “The challenge is taking its toll a little now and his feet are starting to suffer, however he’s still going and putting in another half day today, all in aid of the amazing Little Harbour Hospice, a charity very close to our hearts”.
Little Harbour, in St Austell, is one of the three CHSW children’s hospices in the south west. It opened its doors in December 2011 and families visiting for resilience stays or end of life care can benefit from a home from home environment which includes a wide range of play and therapy facilities – including a messy play area, soft play room, a hydrotherapy pool and a multi-sensory room as well as a homely family kitchen and living room.
Alan said: “I would like to thank everyone who sponsored and supported me throughout the race, we raised £2461.90p in total”.
Alan has already signed up for the Dragon’s Back race again in 2023, and hopes to reach the finish line.
Alan would like to thank: The Hole in the Wall, The Masons, Miss V’s Honey Street in Bodmin, Alstock Music Festival, Joe Jackson from Bodmin College, Radio Cornwall, Liv Powell from Get Bodmin Fit, Russel Bently, Alan’s running buddies; Mark and Anna as well as Alan’s wife Kelly.