A senior nurse at the Trust which runs Shropshire’s two acute hospitals is preparing to pound the streets of the capital when he takes part in next year’s London Marathon in memory of his father – whose birthday would have been on race day.
Phil Fewtrell, Quality Manager with the Senior Nursing Team at The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH) will be running one of the world’s most famous marathons on 23 April 2017 in memory of his dad Michael, who would have been 74 on the day.
And with each step of the 26 miles, 365 yards, Phil will be raising money for the Mental Health Foundation.
Phil, 42, has worked at SaTH, which runs the Princess Royal Hospital in Telford and the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital, for 20 years.
He said: “I’m delighted and honoured to be running the 2017 London Marathon for the Mental Health Foundation.
“I have chosen to run for the Mental Health Foundation as I have learnt from personal experiences how important it is to seek help; to break down the social stigma associated with mental illnesses and to place the same level of importance on your mental health as you do on your physical health.
“Running has been a massive part of this for me; I trained this year to take part in my first half marathon in Shrewsbury and was really
pleased to finish in 1 hour 43 minutes. I am determined to train hard over the next five months to achieve my ultimate goal and finish London in under 3 hours 30 minutes.
“All my family and friends are behind me and are helping me to raise as much as we can for such a worthy charity.
“I’ve set myself a target of £2,000 initially, but would love to beat that if I can. We will be arranging a number of fundraising events over the next few months to help support this.”
Phil, originally from Albrighton, near Wolverhampton, but who now lives in Shrewsbury with his wife and daughter, is a keen runner and is already well into his training.
He said: “I have had great support already and I must give a special mention to my mum, Dena Fewtrell, who still lives in Albrighton, who has already raised over £300 in just 10 days on her own.
If you would like to sponsor Phil, you can do so on his dedicated web page at http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/philipfewtrell