Marathon man Wright wins Toby Sunderland Award

A PGA Member who raised more than £30,000 after running 31 marathons in 31 days has won the Association’s Toby Sunderland Award.

James Wright, the head professional at Penn Golf Club, Wolverhampton, ran 26.2 miles each day in August last year to raise valuable money for a fundraising appeal launched by Acorns Children’s Hospice.

The fundraiser clocked up an impressive 812.2 miles over the course of his marathon challenge, running some days after finishing work in the evenings.

The dedicated runner was supporting the Save Acorns Black Country Hospice Appeal which needed to raise £2 million to save Acorns hospice in Walsall – which the charity had initially proposed for closure due to lack of funds.

The 41-year-old commented: “This is a charity close to our hearts and I knew I had to play my part to help raise some money towards Acorns fundraising appeal.

“When I heard the charity needed help it spurred me on to do something about it – and this challenge is what I came up with!”

Wright added: “Hopefully my runs will inspire other people to take up their own fundraising challenge in aid of this fantastic charity. It doesn’t have to be as crazy as 31 marathons in 31 days – every little helps whether large or small.”

In addition, Wright added to his fundraising total by running 135 miles along the Grand Union Canal and he also ran 100 miles on a treadmill.

The Toby Sunderland Award is handed out each year to celebrate the many wide-ranging charity achievements by PGA Members across the UK.

James Brown, PGA Regional Manager – Midlands, added: “What a wonderful achievement for James in his support of the hospice.

“Many of our Members do fantastic charity work every year raising thousands for all sorts of charities and is it wonderful for them to be recognised for such contribution through the PGA counties, regions and the national Toby Sunderland Award.

In addition to Russell there were six other regional nominees for the award:

The PGA in Ireland - Michael Mulryan and Gavin Kavanagh

The PGA in Scotland - David Scott and James Erskine

The PGA in England & Wales (North) - Rick Shiels

The PGA in England (East) - David Griffiths and Sarah Bennett

The PGA in England (South) - Peter Roberts

The PGA in England & Wales (South West) - Guiseppe Licata

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• Members
• Midlands
• Staffordshire