Wakefield 81-year-old puts best foot forward with 124-mile Great North Trek for Salvation Army

Andy Peddle’s charity walk will start from his home city of Wakefield on September 2 and end in Newcastle the day before he takes part in the biggest half marathon in the UK, bringing his total miles to just over 136 in nine days.

Donning his signature top hat, Andy will encourage others to put their best foot forward and join him on the route, which will take in Leeds, Harrogate, Ripon, Northallerton, Darlington, Sunderland and finish at the start of the Great North Run via the Angel of the North and The Salvation Army’s Newcastle City Temple church.

Andy, who has two children and four grandchildren, who will join him as he sets off, said: “I’d been thinking about a challenge for my ninth decade after completing the London Marathon in 2015 for The Salvation Army.

"This won’t be easy as my aim is to do 10 miles on the first day, then 16 miles a day until the final stretch when I’ll do five miles to ease off in time for the Great North Run, which is another 13 miles that I plan to run and walk. I am in training now and more than ready to go!

“The idea is to invite others to walk alongside me and get sponsored as well. We’ve already got lots of people planning to join us at the start from Millennium Park, Rothwell, but I would love to invite others along the route.

“People can walk half a mile or 10 miles, depending on how much they would like to do and bearing in mind I have to cover 16 miles a day I’ll be going at quite a pace!”

It’s not the first time Andy has taken on a challenge like this having completed an 8,020 mile walk in the 1990s to raise funds for victims of drought in Ethiopia, Sudan and Somalia.

He also did a 7,760 mile walkathon a decade ago visiting more than 900 Salvation Army churches, charity shops and 92 football grounds to raise money for victims of modern slavery.

Andy, who volunteered with The Salvation Army’s modern slavery team as a driver transporting and accompanying rescued survivors to safe houses, said: “I feel passionately about doing this because I am passionate about what The Salvation Army does and what it stands for.

"It is the church I belong to, but it has this vision of helping other people which has been there since the start. I’m glad to be part of that vision and do my own little bit, to do it at my age and encourage other people to do it too.

“I’m hoping to raise £8,100 – a hundred pounds for each year of my life – which will go to survivors of modern slavery and to Salvation Army youth projects in the North East.”

To sponsor Andy visit his fundraising page here. And if you would like to join him on his journey email [email protected].