Man's marathon skate to raise money for skate park

A man who completed a timed marathon skate in full hockey kit to raise money for a new town skate park is "shattered but very pleased" with his effort.

Will Chadwick, 42, set off at 10:00 BST and skated 30 laps of Odd Downs bicycle track in Bath to cover 26.2 miles (42.2km), recording a time of two hours and five minutes.

He has raised more than £1,000 and said he hoped to reach £5,000 to go towards an "absolutely fantastic community resource" for everybody in Wells and the wider community.

He said the skate park project needed £500,000 in total, "with just five months to raise the final amount of around £138,000 to meet the contract for building... so we're pushing to get it over the line".

Chadwick said the marathon skate had become an annual event, with participants coming from around the world to take part, so he wanted to use the opportunity to support the skate park project.

After a last-minute change in venue, he said "the skate community rallied and everyone got involved to find new locations".

"So we bumped into 10 or 15 folk from the Netherlands, Germany and Ireland in Bath during the skate. People have come far and wide for this," he added.

He said, although he did not practice skating the full distance, he played indoor hockey for two hours a week, although that was "short burst, and quite a different discipline".

However, he said the true test was skating the distance in hockey gear, especially the skates, which were designed for speed, not for marathons.

"And, even with the skates, I managed not to fall over for the entire race but as I got to my car afterwards, I fell over and collapsed into the back of the car."

He said he was "acutely aware I people have put their hard earned money into this and I genuinely don't think I could've gone any faster and I was really pleased to have done it... even though I was shattered at the end".

Beverley Smith, trustee of the Wells Skate Park Project, said: "We're incredibly grateful to Will for taking on such a huge challenge for the project.

"It's people like him who show just how much this skatepark means to Wells."

She said the skate park, which was designed by local skaters, has become a "real community effort", with local riders and families, "from very young entrepreneurs raising money through selling bracelets and skateboards, to local businesses, community groups and civic leaders supporting the campaign".

"When it is built, it will be a facility for the whole community to enjoy, but particularly for young people, giving them a place to be active, make friends, build confidence and feel connected," she said.

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