A Truro man is limbering up to take on a gruelling 360-mile journey around Cornwall’s coast path to raise money for charity.
Alan Jervis, who is head of education for the Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, is raising money for Penhaligon’s Friends, Cornwall Mind, and Touch Eldoret, which supports health and employment projects in a small village in Kenya.
He will be setting off from Porthtowan on May 18 and will then head west on the north coast, before making his way along the south coast towards the Cornwall-Devon border.
His journey will continue in-land up to the north coast, before finishing back in Porthtowan.
The challenge will take around two weeks to complete.
Alan will be carrying a small tent and all the essentials needed for camping along the route.
Alan said: “I’m hoping to run around Cornwall. So, all of the coastal path and also the stretch from Plymouth up to north Cornwall.
“I’ll be camping along the way in a bivvy bag and just being pretty self-sufficient. I hope to get it done in around two weeks; fingers crossed.
“I will set off and aim to do around 40 kilometres a day, so that’s usually around 25, 26 miles per day. It’s the coastal path for the majority of it so it’s pretty hilly.
“Over the two weeks I’ll probably complete around 18,000 metres of climb. Each day is going to be pretty tough.”
Alan has always been a keen runner and has taken part in many marathons but due to health reasons he was forced to take a break from his favourite pastime.
He once again donned the running shoes after receiving treatment for a heart condition in 2020.
Alan said: “There’s a couple of reasons why I’m doing the challenge. I’ve always ran and done lots of marathons, but I have not done anything for charity in that time.
“I thought it was about time I did something for charity. I have suffered from atrial fibrillation for a number of years and that impacted on my running for about 10 years until I got it corrected in 2020.
“That will return at some point, so I just wanted to get this challenge done while I’m still fit and healthy really.
“The training is going pretty well. I started properly in January, so we’re a couple of months in now. There’s no major niggles or injuries at the moment, so I just hope that continues.”
Alan set up a donations page at the beginning of the year, with all proceeds going to his three chosen charities, which has so far raised more than £1,000.
Anyone interested in making a donation can visit Alan’s ‘givewheel’ page at www.givewheel.com/fundraising/2243/alans-around-cornwall-challenge