Bolsover boy, 11, raises over £600 for Sands baby loss charity after completing epic triathlon challenge

Eleven-year-old Hayden Hudson took his fundraising efforts to the next level in aid of Sands, The Stillbirth and Neonatal Death Charity, which provided support to his sister Rebecca and her partner Craig.

The challenge saw the youngster, who has learning difficulties and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), tackle a six-mile bike ride from his home in Bolsover to Poolsbrook Park where completed a four-mile run, sprinting twice around the park on Sunday, April 24.

A keen swimmer, Hayden then finished his triathlon at The Healthy Living Centre in Staveley, swimming a whopping 80 lengths of the 25-metre pool.

His proud mum Tracey said: “I’ve totalled up the donations so far and he’s raised £615. Words can’t say how I feel to be quite honest.

"We suffered a loss just over a year ago, my daughter and her partner had an ectopic pregnancy. To give somebody something when they’ve supported you as a family; money can’t take the hurt away but we can now help others to get the support that we’ve had.”

Hayden began his fundraising efforts to three years ago – typically choosing to undertake two challenges a year – and so far has raised a combined total of over £4,000 for numerous charities.

This year however, he decided to go above and beyond and complete his first-ever triathlon having already raised over £600 for Bolsover Parish Church by completing a swin at The Healthy Living Centre.

His latest endurance feat took nearly two hours to complete, with many members of the community showing their support for Hayden along the route.

Tracey added: “He did better than even I thought he was going to do because swimming is his speciality, he loves biking as well, but running isn’t something that he’s done a lot of. So, to do what he did was absolutely amazing.

"He did have support all the way through with different people joining him at different stages, again that was amazing.

"We’ve totalled it up ad he did 10.2 miles in 1 hour and 30 minutes.

“He doesn’t show emotions and never looks at ‘what I’ve done’ but I feel there is some pride in there.”

To donate visit www.justgiving.com/fundraising/tracey-hudson13.

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