Former Coleg Llandrillo Sports student runs 5k a day for 31 days to raise money for Children with Cancer UK
Billy Patterson set himself the challenge of running 5k a day but with a twist. Raising more than £1,000 for charity, Billy’s runs ranged from the aisles of supermarkets, the steepest street in Wales to running 5K in a bath!
Former Level 2 Sports Student at Coleg Llandrillo, 20-year-old Billy started running to help improve his fitness and mental health after finding himself in a dark place.
"I was in a bad place mentally, but I got my life back together and started running and posting videos about it. This gave me extra motivation to do better,” said Billy.
As his health started to improve, Swimming Pool Lifeguard Billy started thinking about using his journey to help others.
“Since I enjoy running and was already posting about it, I figured I might as well raise money for charity at the same time,” he added.
“I wanted to share a challenge, so I decided to do a 5K every day for 31 days,” he said. “I’d seen other people do similar things and took some inspiration from that. I put a twist on it, though! Some of the runs were a little crazy. I’ve done one in a bath, and another where I ran around a lamppost blindfolded.”
On day 23 of his challenge, Billy came back to Coleg Llandrillo’s Rhos-on-Sea campus to meet friends and his former tutors, who cheered him on as he ran round a classroom during a tutorial, jogged round a table tennis match and ran laps around the 3G sports pitch. Students and staff lined up to give him a round of applause as he finished his run in the Sports Lounge.
Billy trained hard for the challenge to make sure he was physically and mentally ready.
“I trained my socks off,” he said. “I was using gym sessions, runs, and sprints to get myself mentally and physically healthy. Even so, waking up and recovering every day was tough.”
After 31 runs and 93 miles Billy has raised more than £1,000 for Children with Cancer UK and now has more challenges in his sights.
“I have a couple of things planned, but I'm keeping them to myself for now,” he commented. “I’ll take a week’s break, and then we’ll see what's next! I have some big ideas in mind,” he added.
Well done Billy, what a great way to help others. We can’t wait to see what you do next!
There’s still time to make a donation to Billy’s Just Giving page here: https://www.justgiving.com/page/billy-patterson-1?utm_medium=FR&utm_source=TT
If you like to start your own sporting story with Grŵp Llandrillo Menai, there’s still time to secure your place for September. Head over to our website and find out more about the range of sports courses on offer: https://www.gllm.ac.uk/courses/sport-and-outdoor-education
