A man says he wants to continue to help people after completing a gruelling 24-hour burpee challenge to help fundraise for a young girl suffering from cancer.
Paul Coote, 37, spent 24 hours going around the pitch at Darwen Football Club from 8am on Saturday, December 2, to 8am the following day, performing burpees every few steps.
He was raising money for Feniscowles toddler Nori Hannon, who was born with the rare Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome - a congenital growth disorder affecting the size of different body parts – and has since been diagnosed with kidney cancer.
Paul, originally from Blackburn but now living in Bamber Bridge, pushed himself to the extreme which led to an emotional finish on the Sunday morning.
READ MORE: Brave Feniscowles toddler Nori Hannon diagnosed with cancer
He said: “I was emotional, I cried. When we finished, all of Nori’s family were there. We couldn’t believe what we did, they were hugging us. There were a lot of tears.
“It was certainly challenging. It was repetitive doing the same move, about 10 steps and then a burpee. There was one point when I was sleepwalking doing it!
“We were just trying to keep hydrated, keep fuelled up. I was sick at one point. It’s obviously pushing your body to the absolute extreme, but it’s done.
“We were supplied with food and people were coming down during the day and night to get stuck in with us. People were doing laps with us as well. We probably had about 45 to 50 people throughout the day.
READ MORE: Feniscowles: Mum raising money for baby's tongue reduction surgery
“I want to plan more stuff now. I feel I want to go down this route, helping people and continuing to do charity work.
“I just know I’ve done my bit for that little girl and hopefully I can continue doing more.”
Nori is continuing to receive treatment and had a chemotherapy session as well as her first blood transfusion on December 4.
The chemotherapy will continue once a week.
The fundraising page set up to help cover the costs of Nori’s treatment has now reached more than £9,000 following Paul’s challenge as well as further donations.
There will also be collections in place at the Women’s FA Cup match between Darwen FC Ladies and Blackburn Rovers Women this Sunday (December 10), where Nori has been invited to be a mascot.
Paul added: “We’re going to have a whip-round because there’s expected to be a couple of thousand people there. Hopefully we can get some nice donations.”
To donate to the page, visit the GoFundMe page and search 'Love for Nori'.
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