A fundraising hero who ran through EVERY train station on the Merseyrail Northern Line has raised an incredible £27,004.29.
Alex Rigby was raising funds for Centre 56, which has been a place of safety and hope for families in Kirkdale for more than 50 years. The charity provides specialist nursery care for children aged 2-12 years who have experienced domestic abuse or crisis situations.
Alex, a Finalist in the Sefton Sportsperson Of The Year category at 2023 Pride Of Sefton Awards at the Grand in Southport, took on his gruelling 56-mile challenge on a single day in February.
He completed the run in less than 11 hours.
He said: “It’s unbelievable how generous people have been!
“While it’s a fantastic amount, I am even more concerned about raising the awareness of what this charity does, spreading the word around the city region and uniting the community!
“It was an amazing day, I’m buzzing with it.”
Alex Rigby raised over £27,000 for the Centre 56 charity by running through every train station on the Merseyrail Northern Line
Alex, the Centre 56 Fundraising Officer, was hoping to raise £20,000 for the charity through his ultra-marathon challenge on Saturday 10th February.
Last year he ran through every postcode in the ‘L’ region of the North West. It took Alex Rigby over 11 hours to complete his epic ‘Postcode Run’ challenge, covering 52 miles and 40 different postcodes through Ormskirk, Bootle and Liverpool.
It was a huge success, with well-wishers digging deep to help him raise over £3,000 for new facilities at Ainsdale Cricket Club in Southport.
This year he was raising funds for Centre 56 in Kirkdale.
Supporters and fundraisers cheered him on at stations along the route.
He set off from Hunts Cross at 6am; ran through Liverpool city centre; along stations on the Sefton coast; through Southport; through Ormskirk; through Maghull, Kirkby and Aintree; and onto the finish line at Kirkdale.
Alex said: “I wanted to do a challenge that was unique. I was getting the train one day and started wondering how long it would take to run to all the stations.
“I’m delighted that along the way we’ve been able to build this relationship with Merseyrail, who have been a fantastic support.”
Sally Ralston BEM, Merseyrail’s Community Involvement Manager, said: “Centre 56 is a charity that is close to the hearts of many of the staff who work at Merseyrail. It does some amazing work in the community, and this was a great opportunity for everyone to support the work they do.”
Alex was joined along the route by supporters and representatives from local businesses, who completed the run in a relay, as well as friends and colleagues.
Senior Train Driver, Mark Scott from Merseyrail was also taking part.
Merseyrail has chosen Centre 56 as one of its Charities of the Year. This means it will continue to work in partnership following the run, benefitting from staff fundraising and volunteering initiatives.
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