Coast To Coast With TV's Ben

24 AUG2010

Former GMTV presenter, Ben Shephard, now of Sky Sports, recently completed a gruelling coast to coast run across the north of England with friends to raise money for Cystic Fibrosis Trust and the Childrens Heart Unit Fund, based at the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle.

Ben completed the 5-marathon coast to coast route from Whitehaven to Tynemouth in five days with two friends whose children have benefitted from the support of both charities. Andrew Roberts' son, Ethan, suffers from Cystic Fibrosis and is supported by the CF Trust, while Ivan Hollingworth's son Seb needed life-saving heart treatment at birth, at the Freeman Hospital.

The journey started on July 31 at 12 noon and the three men made it to Keswick on the first day. This was followed by stretches through Haltwhistle and Ovington, before the final day took them to Tynemouth, joined by a group of walkers, cyclists and walkers from the Freeman Hospital to their final destination.

Pat Kilpatrick,regional fundraising manager for the CF Trust, said: "The C2C 5 Marathon run created a huge amount of interest and we are extremely grateful to every one who supported the two charities, with special thanks to Nadine Hollingsworth who organised a ball at the Hilton Hotel to celebrate the end of this mammoth challenge.

The Cystic Fibrosis Trust is a charity which supports people suffering from Cystic Fibrosis, the UK's most common life threatening inherited disease. The Children's Heart Unit Fund works to keep the Freeman Hospital at the forefront of children's cardiac care, raising money to buy facilities, equipment and aftercare at the hospital. Ben's challenge raised in excess of £50,000 for the two charities.