Driveway half marathon to raise funds for care home

A HUDDERSFIELD man has completed a half marathon on his driveway to raise funds for his local care home.

Parvesh Sharma was due to run the Edinburgh Half Marathon at the end of May but the event was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Instead of hanging up his running shoes for next year’s event, he chose to complete the half marathon on his driveway, raising funds for Thornhill Care Home in the process.

Parvesh, who lives near to Thornhill Care Home, on Thornhill Road, Edgerton, ran up and down his driveway over 2,200 times to complete the distance.

Tracking his progress using a GPS enabled running device, the 13.1 mile run took five hours, 18 minutes and 41 seconds. He raised £200 for the care home.

Parvesh, a business project manager for marketing firm Communsis, in Copely, said: “I was due to race the Edinburgh Half Marathon this bank holiday Sunday just gone. But I knew fairly early on that the event would be postponed, which it eventually was.

“I decided to run a half marathon on my own but I wanted to do so with a specific purpose in mind. So I decided to run it on my own drive way.

“I live fairly near to Thornhill Care Home here in Huddersfield and I had been reading on the news about the lack of PPE and the apparent lack of focus on care homes.

“So I really wanted to show a little appreciation and, while I was mindful that it might be difficult asking for sponsorship at this difficult time, I decided to donate part of my salary to the care home instead.”

However, after mentioning the run on social media, Parvesh started receiving sponsorship money from others, doubling the £100 of his own money already put forward.

To say thank you, residents and staff at Thornhill Care Home made a thank you card for Parvesh, which was delivered by home manager Joanne Thorpe.

She said: “We are so grateful to Parvesh for his donation to the care home.

“Completing a half marathon is a huge achievement but to do it on your own driveway, running thousands of laps, takes a lot of will power and determination, not to mention the necessary fitness.

“We are planning a big party when we’re able to open the home to all visitors and Parv, who is on the top of the guest list, has already been invited.”