The chaplain of Norwich City Football Club has thanked his supporters for their generosity after completing a gruelling treadmill challenge - and coming close to doubling a fund-raising target in the process.
Jon Norman, senior pastor at Soul Church in Norwich, spent more than five hours on a treadmill on Friday running the length of a marathon - broadcasting every punishing moment along the way.
The challenge was in a bid to raise funds to help the local response to the Covid-19 outbreak, from supplying families with food via the Norwich Foodbank to purchasing storage space for donated supplies.
Mr Norman had set himself the ambitious target of raising £10,000 - and was blown away when he saw this figure almost doubled, with donations approaching the £20,000 mark late on Friday evening.
The father-of-two said: “I honestly would have been happy with £500 at the beginning of the day, but everyone was just so generous. I really think the situation we are all in has brought people closer together and this generosity just shows that. There’s a true sense of camaraderie at the minute - a feeling that we are all going through this together.
“I think people saw this as a really positive distraction - so many people watched me and cheered me on and seeing all the comments really helped me along.”
Last year, Mr Norman and former Norwich City defender Louis Blois ran seven marathons in a day for the Soul Foundation, but this was unlike any other run he has completed.
“It was the first marathon I’d ever run on a treadmill which was a big challenge - I also didn’t train for it so I feel I might be fairly sore in the morning. It was a lot harder to focus than when you’re out there in the world.”
Mr Norman finished the challenge in five hours and seven seconds, which he completed in his own back garden.
Meanwhile, a documentary providing a behind the scenes look of the pair’s marathon challenge was premiered on the Soul Church’s YouTube challenge that same evening.
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