Wolverhampton friends set to tackle mountainous challenge for children's charity
Two friends are set to take on a lung-bursting, leg-burning challenge to raise money for a charity which helped one of their sons find the support he needed.
Jack Gould and his friend Matt Penfield from Wolverhampton will be completing the 53km Sea2Sky Ultra Marathon up the second highest peak in Snowdon on Sunday.
The two friends have been training for a few months, covering 409km over a three month period and are raising the funds for the Naval Children's Charity, a charity which helped Mr Gould's son Benji.
Mr Gould and his wife Samantha had been waiting for an Autism assessment from the NHS for their son for nearly three years, with Mrs Gould saying that they reached out to the Naval Children's Charity due to her husband being a Royal Navy Veteran.
She said: "They listened to our challenges that we were experiencing at home and quickly offered support by providing a grant to access a private assessment.
"Just a couple of months after contacting them, we received a diagnosis for our son and we're able to access more support for him and allow him to understand himself more."
Mr Gould said he was nervous about the challenge ahead, but felt it was worth it to help a charity which had done so much for his family.
He said: "We're feeling a bit nervous about the distance and the elevation, as it's the first time either of us has done anything like this before, however we're both relishing the challenge.
"It's also great to be doing it with such a close friend of 30 years as we push each other when training has got tough and help each other through the mental barriers.
"It's going to be extremely hard work, but my family and I could not be more grateful for the support that the charity has offered us so it's the least I can do."
To find out more about the challenge and to make a donation, go to Jack Gould's Go Fund Me page.
