South Petherton man running half marathon every day during Lent
N.B. The story below refers to I CAN. That is because in October 2022 we changed our name and our brand to ensure that we can support more children and their families with learning to talk and use words. I CAN is now Speech and Language UK. Why? Our research showed that by changing our name we could reach more people who need us and, vitally, raise more money to support them.
Stephen Carp of South Petherton, Somerset, is running the equivalent of a half marathon every day during Lent to raise funds for I CAN, the children’s communication charity.
So far, Stephen has run 37 half marathons out of his total of 47 to be completed before Easter Sunday.
When asked why he is supporting I CAN, Stephen said:
“I am running half a marathon every day as I have a daughter that has a severe speech disorder. I am a real running fanatic, I have been running every day since 28th December 2019, a current streak of 831 days. My previous average is 8 miles a day, but for lent I wanted to make it more of a challenge, so I am attempting a half marathon distance every day between Ash Wednesday and Easter Sunday, making 47 Half Marathons in total. During the pandemic, my family and I became concerned that because of all the lockdowns, our daughter, Kya-Onawa, may fall further behind with her speaking and understanding. This was a worrying experience for our family. Fortunately, we found out about I CAN who provided us with lots of useful information and support. As a thank you, I want to highlight the great work they do and that is why I am running a half marathon every day during Lent for the charity.”
Carol Payne, Interim Chief Executive of I CAN said:
“It is a truly remarkable feat that Stephen is undertaking in aid of I CAN. Throughout the UK, children’s education has been severely disrupted by Covid and the lockdowns. They have lost months of being in school and have missed out on daily chances to interact with their friends and family and the wider outside world. We are now beginning to see the true impact this has had on their ability to communicate. The Covid generation need us to defend their future and we are incredibly grateful to Stephen for all he is doing to help ensure that we all speak up to so that children’s voices are heard.”
To sponsor Stephen, please click here to visit his fundraising page.
