A Wirral man is putting his best barefoot forward – by running 10k every day for a whole year in aid of charity.

Phill Hayward’s brave barefoot bid is raising thousands of pounds for the Alzheimer’s Society.

He is already seven months into the challenge, which he is balancing around his busy life as a PE teacher.

Previously, Phill donned his trainers to complete a similar challenge back in 2020, raising money for Wirral Mind.

But he’s finding it significantly more difficult bare-footed!

He told Merseysportlive: “It is [more challenging] because logistically I’ve got to work out where exactly I do run because when I did it in 2020, I could run at any time and at any location because I had trainers on.

“This time I’ve got to plan my routes and with the light going early because of it being winter, I’ve got to do it at a certain time.”

Due to the lack of light in the winter and his everyday life, Phill tends to run a similar route each day as it ‘makes it easier to get through’.

Phill HaywardThe biggest struggle came in January, when the paths were covered in snow and ice.

He said: “When I put my foot down in the snow, I thought to myself I physically and mentally can’t do this.

“It was so cold to the point where I had to sit back down on the bench for 15 minutes and compose myself.

“The adrenaline got me through that, and when I finished, I couldn’t physically put my socks or my shoes on, I couldn’t feel my feet or my ankles!”

Phill’s motivation comes from his grandad’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis nine years ago, a devastating disease which causes memory loss and confusion.

He added: “I’m very family oriented.

“We’ve got a small family, so seeing him struggle day in day out, whether it’s the early stages or whether it’s nine years it’s very hard.

“I’d do this challenge again twice over if it meant that we could find a cure.”

Phill keeps a photograph in his pocket of his grandad to remind himself why he is doing it.

Nobody has ever completed the challenge before so Phill could find himself in the Guinness Book of Records if he gets to the end.

He has currently raised more than £7,000 for Alzheimer’s Society and hopefully this will continue to increase until he finishes the challenge in July.

You can support Phill by donating using the link below.

chttps://gofund.me/126ce9b1

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