Grantham grandad runs 10K a day for 60 days for charity close to his heart

A grandad is running 10k a day for 60 days straight to raise money for a charity that is close to his heart.

Paul Durham, of Lime Grove, Grantham, is hoping to raise at least £200 for Diabetes UK after his grandson, William Hodges, was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when he was nine years old.

The father-of-two is already two thirds of the way through his 400-mile challenge after setting off on his first 10k run on New Year’s Day and hopes to finish on March 1.

Due to the Covid-19 restrictions, Paul sticks to pounding the pavements around Grantham, but also enjoys running along the canal, the River Witham and circular routes around local villages including Belton, Manthorpe, Barrowby and Great Gonerby.

Paul, 66, said: “It normally takes me anywhere between 47-55 minutes to complete a 10k race, but I have to go slower to enable me to run every day, so it now takes me between one hour to one hour and 15 minutes.

“I’m on target to reach 400 miles in the 60 days. This is over my 10k a day target, which would be like running from Grantham to Inverness in Scotland in 60 days.

“The biggest challenge is trying to avoid injury as you would normally have a rest day every other day when you are training. The other major challenge is the weather. I don’t mind running in rain and even when it’s snowing, but the worst running conditions are when it’s icy.”

William, 13, often runs alongside his grandad.

Paul, who has four grandsons, added: “William has joined me on some of the runs but his schoolwork has to take priority as well as having to work around his blood sugar levels – it’s a mega juggling act.”

Since his grandson’s diagnosis, Paul has committed himself to raising awareness about the condition.

He said: “We knew nothing about type 1 diabetes until Will was diagnosed. I have now taken part in marathons, half marathons, 10k races and 5k park runs, all in aid of Diabetes UK.”

Paul, who has lived in Grantham all of his life and used to play football for Grantham Amateurs and Harrowby United, took up running after watching his daughters, Holly Durham and Penny Hodges, compete in the Great North Run 12 years ago.

He is already planning his next fund-raising challenges, adding: “I plan to run the 26-mile marathon distance around Rutland Water in spring and will be running my 10th Great North Run as part of the Diabetes UK GNR team, in September.”

To sponsor Paul, visit: www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Paul-Durham13