The College Dean of Higher Education at the Trafford College Group, including Stockport College, trekked 55 miles in a day dressed as a nurse to raise money for his brother’s life-limiting condition
Stockport College and Trafford Group College Dean Mark Harris trekked over 55-miles between Sheffield Hallam and Stoke City Football clubs to support research into a life-limiting condition suffered by his brother.
Mark was joined by fellow fundraisers, including ex-Stoke City and Republic of Ireland legend, Liam Lawrence, from Hillsborough to bet365 Stadium in time for the match between the two clubs on Saturday 30 March.
The team left the Sheffield Wednesday pitch at 7pm on Friday, arriving at Sheffield Hallamshire Hospital to drop off a £10,000 cheque to the specialist pulmonary nurses at 8pm, and then started their 55-mile walk through the night.
They arrived at Stoke City stadium at midday (approx. 17-hours later) for a presentation on the pitch at half time in front of 25,000 fans and gained lots of media interest, appearing on a couple of live breakfast radio shows and even getting a mention on Sky Sports!
The walk took its toll on the team and Mark suffered hallucinations at 4am whilst walking across the top of the peaks at sunrise. Despite the large collection of blisters they’ve suffered, the team are already looking forward to their next challenge. They’ll take on the 3 Peaks in 24-hour challenge (again – dressed as nurses) with the aim of then completing the ‘John Bishop’ Paris to London challenge in 5-days at some point over Summer 2020 – cycling from Paris to Calais – Rowing across to Dover – then 3 marathons in 3 days!
In total, the team has raised about £15,000 so far across the 4 walks, and are hoping to get this closer to £20,000.