Football coach hits £11,000 milestone as he dribbles a ball 2,000 miles from Africa to England
A football coach from Staffordshire has raised more than £11,000 for a local hospice after almost a month on the road dribbling a football from Marrakech to the Midlands.
James Lewis, 26, from Rugeley, set off from Morocco on 1 May and is currently making his way through rural Spain, heading towards Madrid, which he is due to reach this weekend. Having already covered approximately 800 miles on foot, he is running around 30 miles a day, completely solo and carrying a 15-kilogram pack, with the aim of reaching home by 19 July, the date of the World Cup final.
The challenge has already thrown up extraordinary obstacles. James was chased off the road by a pack of wild dogs in Morocco, partially tore his Achilles, had a ball burst under the wheels of a bus and at one point was forced to sleep on the floor in rural Spain after finding no hotels along his route. He has been running for up to 10 hours a day in temperatures exceeding 35 degrees.
James is raising money for St Giles Hospice in Staffordshire in memory of his father, David Lewis, who was cared for at the hospice before his death when James was just 11 years old. He has raised more than £55,000 for the charity through previous challenges and is targeting £100,000 from this one.
James said: “It is going really well but it is tough. It is hot every single day and I am running for around 10 hours at a time, so there is very little time to rest. But I am on schedule and every donation keeps me going. Thank you to everyone who has supported me so far. It means everything.”
Elinor Eustace, Chief Executive of St Giles Hospice, said: “To have raised £11,000 in less than a month is a fantastic achievement, and as James prepares to reach Madrid this weekend there is still so much of this incredible journey ahead. Every pound brings him closer to his £100,000 target and we cannot wait to see him home.”
To follow James’s progress and donate, visit www.justgiving.com/page/jameslewis26 or search @XJamesLewis on Instagram, James Lewis on Facebook or @jameslewisruns on TikTok.
