Forty six-year-old Daren Johnson is set to run a marathon a day throughout April in a bid to raise £100,000 for two charities close to his heart.
Daren, from Bromley, will run more than 850 miles from John O’Groats to Land’s End in his Give a Bit Back challenge to generate funds for two charities very special to him – the Retired Greyhound Trust and Help for Heroes.
Greyhound owner Daren, whose dog Kinda Ready won the Greyhound Derby in 2009, has spent his life involved in the racing industry. He had always pledged to raise funds and give something back to the Retired Greyhound Trust, which supports the racing industry to find loving new homes for the dogs at the end of their careers.
The construction firm boss also chose to support Help for Heroes after former employee Rob Long was blinded in a bomb explosion in Afghanistan and was given crucial support by the charity.
Daren said: “I did a couple of marathons in the 1990s and until a few years ago I played a bit of football too. This is going be very, very tough, but if people are going to donate their hard earned money I can’t have it easy!
”The Retired Greyhound Trust and its hundreds of volunteers around the country work tirelessly to find good homes for greyhounds at the end of their careers. It has always been so important for us to find loving homes for our dogs when they retire, so we are delighted to be able to support the charity in this challenge.
“The Trust has more than 700 dogs in kennels across the country who need homes, so they have their work cut out for them. I want to try to make their fantastic work a little bit easier by raising funds that allows them to continue to look after the dogs while they are searching for new owners.
“I decided to support Help for Heroes after seeing the amazing support that Rob received from the charity as he came to terms with a life-changing injury. Rob lost both of his eyes and was standing next to his best friend who was killed in the blast. You hear it all of the time on the news, but when it happens to someone you know you see the impact it has on people’s lives. That was the incident that sealed it for me ” the run was on and I was determined to raise lots of money,” he said.
Daren, who has looked after his own greyhounds after their racing careers are over, is passionate about the dogs. He said: “If anyone is considering a pet then I would urge them to consider a greyhound. We have had years of joy from our greyhounds. When they retired from the track they like nothing better than to loll around and get fussed. Most love children and other animals and, despite their reputation as formidable athletes, most greyhounds only need two short walks a day, so they are very easy dogs to look after.”
To help Daren to reach his £100,000 target for the Retired Greyhound Trust and Help for Heroes or to follow his progress, log on to his website to find out more: www.giveabitback.net.
Daren starts his Give a Bit Back challenge on April 2 from John O’Groats.
For further media information, photographs or interviews please contact:
Helen Barklam in the Retired Greyhound Trust communications team, tel: 01772 785392 or 07917 148900 .
Notes to editors
You can sponsor Daren and donate specifically to the Retired Greyhound Trust through this link: www.justgiving.com/giveabitback-rgt.
The charity has housed more than 50,000 dogs since it was set up in 1975. Around 9,000 greyhounds retire from racing each year.
The Retired Greyhound Trust has 72 branches across the country made up of volunteers who are dedicated to finding homes for the dogs in their areas. Many have websites, showing pictures of the dogs that need homes.
Media Contact Information
Name: Helen Barklam
Website: www.retiredgreyhounds.co.uk
Email: helen@avaandgrace.com
Phone: 1772785392
