Every day throughout February, 50-year-old David got up at 3am to run 13.1 miles to raise funds for us.
Initially he started his runs outdoors and then as the snow and ice came, he hit the treadmill to keep his endurance efforts on track.
David started his runs super-early to fit his half-marathons around his work as a specialist trainer helping develop the careers of horticulturalists, arborculturalists and farmers.
Marathon man: David Whyte
Horticulture means a great deal to David who has been in the industry for more than 30 years and trained as a gardener and as a tree specialist
‘I’ve been aware of Thrive for years and wanted to try and get involved in some way and offer support,’ said David, who lives in Sunderland.
‘One of my first training jobs was working with Sunderland council teaching adults with learning disabilities, so Thrive is close to my heart because it’s about helping people who want to get into gardening.’
David’s running achievement for Thrive is phenomenal and inspiring.
Stacey Lewis, Thrive’s Fundraising Manager
Although David admits his wife thought he was ‘mad’ taking on half marathons every day for a month, he’s no stranger to endurance efforts having previously taken ultra-running events of more than 30 miles.
In fact, running for Thrive is a warm-up really as David is looking to complete over 12 to 18 months the Virtual Scotland Coastal Challenge which is the equivalent to running, walking and cycling around the entire coastline of Scotland – 7,426 miles.
Stacey Lewis, Thrive’s Fundraising Manager, said: ‘David’s running achievement for Thrive is phenomenal and inspiring.
‘It’s also a real testament to his determination and how much he, like us, values the way gardening can improve health, wellbeing and change lives. Well done David!”
You can support David at:
