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Graham Bags His First 500 Miles in 2012 Challenge

We are delighted to announce that Graham Smith, who is undertaking a challenge to run 2012 miles in 2012 in order to raise £2,012 for the Tony Blair Sports Foundation, has completed his first 500 miles.

Since signing up to take on this phenomenal challenge Graham has battled his way to reach 500 miles, overcoming split trainers, illness, icy conditions and the current heat wave along the way. His journey to 500 miles has seen him running around the streets of Whickham and Newcastle upon Tyne, as well as in some more unusual locations. Earlier in March 2012 Graham was lucky enough to be invited to run on the ship decks of HMS Illustrious and NLNS Holland while they were in the region, and running aboard these ships helped to make Graham’s routes all the more interesting on his way to reaching the landmark of his first 500 miles.

Now nearly a quarter of his way through the challenge, Graham is well on the way to reaching his target of 2012 miles by the end of the year. His efforts have been truly inspiring, and hugely appreciated by the Tony Blair Sports Foundation as every pound that Graham raises will help to get more of the North East’s young people involved in sport, improving their health and wellbeing. Jeanette Pickard, Chief Executive of the Foundation, was delighted to hear that Graham had completed the first 500 miles of his challenge. She said:

“When I heard that Graham had reached the 500 mile stage of his 2012 miles in 2012 challenge I was thrilled! All of us at the Tony Blair Sports Foundation are so impressed by his determination and dedication towards his challenge, and are proud of his achievements so far. The money that Graham is raising will let us train more sports coaches for community clubs and schools so that we can give more young people in the North East the opportunity to take part in sport. Congratulations on reaching 500 miles Graham and good luck with the rest of your challenge!”

To keep up to date with the latest news about Graham’s challenge, you can follow his blog at http://2012milesin2012graham.wordpress.com/ or via Twitter www.twitter.com/whickhamrunning

If you would like to support Graham by making a donation, please visit his just giving page at www.justgiving.com/graham-smith19

For more information about how you can get involved in helping the work of the Tony Blair Sports Foundation please contact us by emailing info@tonyblairsportsfoundation.org or call us on 0191 276 0640