Macclesfield accountant goes the distance for charity - raising £2133
By Alex Greensmith
10th Sep 2024 | Local News
A Macclesfield dad has gone the distance for charity, raising thousands of pounds for charity.
Paddy Jenner, who was born in Macclesfield, and is a former pupil of Fallibroome Academy, started September running The Gritstone Trail.
The ultra marathon, which he completed with his personal trainer and brother-in-law, was to raise money for Macclesfield charity Space4Autism. The money will be used to keep the good cause's social clubs going.
Incredibly, Paddy and his fellow runners have fundraised £2133 for the Mill Lane charity.
Macclesfield Nub News met with the father-of-one, who works for an international accountancy firm to find out more.
"The Gritstone Trail goes through Bollington where I live," he said.
"It starts at Kidsgrove and ending at Disley. And the ultra marathon is called The Gritstone Grind.
"I see people doing it all the time, so I always thought I would do it one day."
While Paddy has no personal connection to the charity, that didn't put him off conquering the 35 mile challenge on September 1.
"I wanted to do a challenge that was a bit different, and local," he revealed.
"My time was eight hours three minutes.
"The worst part was, my phone battery died with two kilometres to go. So I didn't know my time until much after.
"At the finish, I felt a certain amount of elation, and absolutely shattered.
"I was proud, as I wasn't sure if I was actually going to achieve it and run that far.
"It was a great mix of elation and pride, and the feeling I won't have to do this again.
Paddy celebrated with a meal from Macclesfield Thai eatery Chilli Banana. (Image - Macclesfield Nub News)
"I celebrated with a few beers and a takeaway from Chilli Banana.
"The toughest part of the race was the last three or four kilometres, just after Bollington, you have to climb up Sponds Pond which was just horrible. I was incredibly tired. Mentally, the end was the hardest.
"You hit a bit of a wall, and were obviously slowing down. It felt like it was never going to end."
Paddy was able to complete the run thanks to his long-term personal trainer and Macclesfield resident Matt Rigby.
"I moved back to Macclesfield ten years ago. And Matt has been my personal trainer for seven-and-a-half years.
"He is an all-round decent human being, who is great at doing what he does. He does so much for charity. And I've also been to his run clubs."
"To support a local charity as well, was really important to us, and Matt's daughter benefits from Space4Autism.
"It is a really good space for children with autism to get something out of it, and also gives people opportunity to have a bit of down time.
"To have fundraised £2133, it feels humbling that people care that much.
"It feels like people are having such a difficult time financially, people have a lot going on, so for people to donate money to something that they may not even use themselves makes me feel good about humanity, and the way people see things.
"I would like to say thank you for being so generous, and thoughtful of the people that need that kind of support, and for being so community-minded."
56 people have pledged funds, and despite the race being over, it is not too late to donate.
Proud personal trainer Matt Rigby added: "Paddy is genuinely nice guy, a family man with no ego. He is very kind and will do anything for you, if he can.
"He's a fantastic client, because he will try anything I throw at him, even if he may not think he can do it. He will keep trying until he gets there. I've learnt he revels in a challenge, the Gritstone Grind proving that.
"He digs deep and is determined to achieve what's required.
"It's my job as a trainer to get the best of of my clients and I've been working with Patrick now long enough to know how he ticks and what I need to say to him to push him to the next level.
"He worked extremely hard training for this race, putting in a solid training block since February. It's true what they say, 'hard work does pay off!'
"He is also extremely polite, I can give him a total beasting, he can be dripping and he will still thank me for the session.
"Congratulations Paddy on completing a difficult challenge. I am a very proud coach!"
Space4Autism, also expressed their thanks to the boys on social media.
Other than a long (but shorter than the 35-mile) run in Bollington this weekend. When asked what the future could hold, Paddy candidly surmised: "Never, ever another ultra marathon.
"I told my wife she has complete veto powers on that, if I ever decided I want to do it again!
"I will hope to do more smaller marathons in the future for charity."
Macclesfield: You can donate to Paddy's fundraiser on this link.
You can find more about Matt's services on social media.
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