Northampton dad to trek 35km while carrying the seven stone he has lost to raise money for terminally ill children

A Northampton dad-of-three who has lost seven stone will temporarily reacquaint himself with the weight to complete a trek for a terminally ill children’s charity.

Adam Gregory from Pineham village, decided towards the end of 2019 that he needed to lose weight.

The 34-year-old joined Slimming World, ‘ate less and moved more’ and managed to shift 45kgs - seven stone - in just 15 months.

Now, ahead of his 35th birthday, the operations manager is gearing up to complete a 35km walk with seven stone in a weighted vest, for the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

Adam said: “I am not a naturally fit person so I thought I wouldn’t be able to do a run, but I can do a walk.

“I’ll be 35 this year and although that isn’t a big milestone, it is halfway through my 30s, so I thought I would do a 35km trek, two weeks before my birthday.

“But obviously people do that every weekend so I needed to make it harder.

“I’ve lost 45kg so I’ll add that back on for the day with a weighted vest. I know it’s a different kind of weight, but I have carried it around before so I can do it again.

“If it’s not hard, it’s not worth doing.”

Adam plans to start training with a weight vest next month ahead of his challenge in October.

Although he is apprehensive about the trek, he is also excited and spurred on by the support he has already received from friends and family, as well as the heartfelt cause he will be raising money for.

Make-A-Wish Foundation helps to provide seriously and terminally ill children with the opportunity for a wish to come true, whether that is a trip to Disneyland or meeting their favourite celebrity, which is something Adam is concerned will not have been able to happen for a lot of children during the pandemic.

He added: “In terms of the pandemic, a lot of lives have been impacted and turned upside down, but I have not seen or been made aware of the impact on terminally ill children.

“I imagine how hard it would have been if I knew a child who has a serious illness and they said they wanted to meet someone and it was impossible to do.

“At some point over the last year numerous children will have passed having not fulfilled their last wish. That for me as a father is horrific.”

To support Adam and donate to his chosen charity, visit his JustGiving page.

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