A FATHER who ran 5km a day for 50 days has smashed his initial fundraising target of £500 for a cerebral palsy charity.

Simon Li, 49, decided he would try to complete the gruelling challenge before he turned 50 in order to raise money for charity Stick 'n' Step, which supports children with cerebral palsy across the North West and North Wales. Simon's daughter, five-year-old Zahara, attends weekly sessions at Stick 'n' Step's centre in Runcorn.

Simon was joined virtually by a different person each day on his 5km run - either at their local gym, or round their park, wherever they might be. Participants ranged from work colleagues, friends, family, and members of Simon’s local running club, the Silverbacks, which is based in Runcorn.

Simon’s employer, Innospec, based in Ellesmere Port, pledged to double match fund whatever he raised through its community support programme, Innospec Cares, to boost his fundraising efforts.

Together, they raised a total of £7,194, a fantastic amount for the charity, which relies solely on supporters and volunteers to help raise the £750,000 each year required to deliver its services to over 100 families at its Wallasey and Runcorn centres.

Simon said: "Zahara really enjoys her sessions at Stick ‘n’ Step and the confidence this has given her is incredible. I’m so pleased to be able to make a positive impact for a charity which has given her and our family so much. I was overwhelmed by the response to my request for other people to run with me and I really appreciated the support.

"I am delighted to have smashed my target of £500. Thank you to all the people who donated, I am incredibly grateful to everyone, and to Innospec for taking the total to over £7k."

Helen Coy, Innospec Global ESG Manager, said: "We were truly bowled over by Simon’s fantastic effort to raise money for such a great organisation. The Innospec Cares programme enables us to support the charities and good causes that are close to our employees’ hearts."

Stick ‘n’ Step provides free weekly conductive education sessions to children and young people with cerebral palsy up to the age of 25, allowing them to gain the skills they need to live more independent lives.

For more information about the charity visit: https://www.sticknstep.org/ or if you would like to set up your own fundraising challenge, go to: https://www.sticknstep.org/do-your-own-fundraising/.