Water Orton resident, Paul Reynolds, is set to run the Manchester Marathon in October in aid of Coleshill-based charity, Father Hudson’s Care. He is hoping to raise £500 for St Vincent’s House, part of Father Hudson’s Domiciliary Care and Supported Living service. The service, which supports people to live independently, wants to build a communal space for tenants and their families to socialise.

Paul, who works for New Routes fostering service, said, “St Vincent’s House provides supported living to allow tenants to have some independence whilst living within the community. I have helped the Domiciliary Care Team distribute food donated from Aldi at Christmas and have helped with their charity coffee mornings. The whole Domiciliary Care team do a fantastic job with their residents and, after speaking with Registered Manager Andrew Penny, it seemed a great idea to help fundraise for a communal space that the tenants and their families can enjoy.”

Since taking up running six years ago, Paul has raised funds for Father Hudson’s Care and local football teams. He said, “I have completed 10Ks, 10 mile runs, half marathons and a full marathon in my quest to raise money for local good causes.”

He began training for the Manchester Marathon in 2019, as the race was originally due to take place in April 2020. However, due to the pandemic it has been rescheduled twice. 

Paul said, “I was hitting a peak time for my marathon training when the Coronavirus pandemic started and although I haven’t personally had any symptoms of the virus, it had an impact on my day-to-day training routines.

“I had entered the Manchester Marathon which was to be held in April 2020, with the Great North Run and the Great Birmingham run scheduled for September and October – but all were postponed. I found it difficult to motivate myself once these runs were cancelled as I had dedicated a lot of time and effort into my training, and it did take some time to get back into my stride! On average I am now back to running three or four times per week, covering a distance of 25-30 miles weekly. I need to up my weekly mileage by around another 10-15 miles per week to get ready for October.

“I am grateful to all of those who sponsored me in my original request and since then. I have kept my Just Giving page open for others who would like to sponsor me: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/PaulReynolds36. It would be great to be able to hit my fundraising target.”

Paul works as a Fostering Administrator for New Routes fostering service, which is part of Father Hudson’s Care. New Routes recruits people who can provide safe, supportive homes for children and young people unable to live with their birth families. To find out more about becoming a foster carer with New Routes, go to: www.foster-carers.org.uk. 

St Vincent’s House is raising funds to build a communal space for tenants to spend time socialising with each other and with their families and friends. To find out more about St Vincent’s and the Domiciliary Care service, go to www.fatherhudsons.org.uk