"Inspirational" runner is stepping out again to raise money for Pontefract's Prince Of Wales Hospice

Simon Speight, who has raised over £3,200 for The Prince Of Wales Hospice already, plans to move up a gear to support the district’s Prince of Wales Hospice with a run in Durham next month.

Simon has been raising money since 2021 for the charity ever since he saw the service the hospice provides up close after his sister Anita was cared for by staff.

He said: “I started raising funds for The Prince of Wales Hospice after witnessing first-hand the love and care they provided to my sister who sadly left us on 30 April 2021, after only seven weeks from being diagnosed with an aggressive brain tumour.

"From that moment I wanted to ensure others benefit from the same loving care when they need it most.”

Simon began running for charity with his wife Rachael, and started off by running 10K every day for 10 days.

He had people join him on the run, and even had people handing him donations.

By mid-May 2021, Simon had already raised £1,935 – which he said “motivated me to carry on” as he was so “blown away by the generosity".

Following on from this success, Simon took part in the Pontefract 10k, before signing up for the Great North Run half marathon.

Unfortunately, in the run up to the race in Northumbria, Simon encountered some difficulties with his health;

"I ended up in hospital with pancreatitis. This led to other critical conditions and spent many weeks in hospital and another three months of recovery before returning back to work. As a result I have lost half my pancreas, can no longer drink alcohol and have ended up with diabetes.”

This didn’t stop Simon though. He deferred his entrance into the Great North Run for a year, and with the help of his local running club, Ackworth Road Runners, he learnt a new running style to adapt and allow him to compete called “jeffing”. He is now wholeheartedly back into completing challenges to raise money.

“I “jeffed” the Pontefract 10k in May, I “jeffed” the Doncaster Half marathon in June, I then completed The Prince of Wales Hospice challenge event – the Yorkshire 3 Peaks with my wife, Rachael. That was the hardest thing I have done in my whole life. And on 11th September 2022, I completed the Great North Run in 2 hrs 30 mins,” he said.

On the support he has received, Simon said “I am still blown away by the amount of support I’ve had throughout my whole fundraising journey and cannot thank people enough.

“The Prince of Wales Hospice is such a great cause and they have been so supportive.”

Simon has been stepping up his training recently, with the intention of running the Remembrance Run in Durham on November 13.

If you would like to learn more about Simon’s story or want to support Simon, you can visit his website www.arfapanc.com.