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Newtonmore welcomes the Man in a Shack





Shacking up with a good cause
Shacking up with a good cause

His name may be Hall, but his home is a shack – in between marathons – and Newtonmore welcomed him yesterday (Thursday).

Chartered accountant Man in a Shack Dave Hall (50) caught some much-needed rest after he completed his seventh marathon in an epic 40-day challenge.

He has set out to complete 40 marathons back-to-back from John O’Groats to Land‘s End, sleeping each night in a shack that should be in a slum in Sierra Leone.

The extreme endurance challenge will raise vital funds for the new charity Home Leone; started by Nigel Hyde, the founder of established global charity, Mission Direct, which has already provided homes, schools, wells and other vital infrastructure to many African communities.

The aim is to raise enough money to build 40 new homes in Sierra Leone and change the lives of 40 families who currently live in abject poverty in the Freetown slums, Dave explained.

Having taken up running in 1999, he has since completed over 130 marathons, including six ultra-marathons, and has successfully completed the London marathon 11 times. Following a visit to Sierra Leone in June, Dave was moved to use his passion for running to do something to try to relieve the poverty that he witnessed while visiting the villages.

He began his challenge at John O’Groats on August 18 and plans to cross the finish line at Land’s End on September 26. A replica of a slum-town shack is being driven along the route for Dave to sleep in and was pitched up at St Brides Church when he made it to Newtonmore.

Dave said: “The support from the people and passers-by when leaving Alness and running all the way through Inverness, Aviemore and Newtonmore was incredible and I’d like to thank those who ran along-side to show their support.

“The challenge is tough but the messages of support and encouraging crowds are keeping me going. It’s going to get more difficult as the days go on but my visit to Sierra Leone inspired me to do something positive. With the help of the team at Home Leone, we’ve developed this challenge to help raise awareness of the families suffering extreme poverty and more importantly raise much needed funds for the cause of what is happening in the country.”

Nigel Hyde, Chief Executive of Home Leone, added: “Dave is doing brilliantly and we’re overwhelmed by the support from the British public he has received this far. We cannot thank Dave enough for taking up the challenge on behalf of the charity and we’re sure the support will continue as he edges nearer to completing the 40 days.

“With the world’s deadliest outbreak of the Ebola virus taking place in Western Africa as we speak with over 1,000 victims already, it’s more important than ever for new homes to be built to enable clean, healthy living.”

Dave’s progress can be followed here www.maninashack.com and donations can be made at https://mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/davehall

Dave is on Twitter @dave404040 and on Facebook.com/ManinaShack Challenge.


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