Three friends will be lacing up their running shoes to raise vital funds for a North East charity.
Alex Fagan, Dom Knox and Joe Gray, all from Whitley Bay, are running the Northumberland Castles Half Marathon to raise money for the SHINE Fund.
Part of Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust’s (CNTW) charity, SHINE aims to improve the experience and wellbeing of patients receiving care in the Trust’s mental health, learning disability and neurological care services.
Money from the SHINE Fund is used to provide the extras that make a big difference to patient recovery. Since launching in 2014, SHINE has funded hundreds of projects, supporting patients with everything from improved indoor and outdoor spaces, exercise equipment and pet therapy to yoga classes, gardening tools and much more.
The trio are raising money for the charity which has helped their friend Paul Maddison who is currently an inpatient at the Trust’s Walkergate Park.
In November 2024, Paul suffered a traumatic brain injury after falling off a bike in Vietnam.
He was returned home and spent time in a number of different hospitals before arriving at Walkergate Park.
Alex said: “Paul has had so much support and we want to be able to give back in some way.”
Walkergate Park provides services for people with a disability caused by injury or disease affecting the brain, spinal cord or muscles.
SHINE supports the Social, Therapeutic and Recreational Rehabilitation Team (STARRT) at Walkergate Park, providing funding towards recovery-focused activities such as community outings, creative sessions and festive events.
Whilst there, Paul has received a range of therapies to help his recovery.
Friends say Paul has improved massively since his arrival at Walkergate Park and is in a position to move to supported accommodation.
Alex added: “SHINE has helped give Paul a bit of normality in what has been a crazy situation. As his friends, it feels great to be able to give back, especially when there are times you really want to help but feel like you can’t.”
The Northumberland Castles Half Marathon takes place on Sunday 19 October 2025.
Starting in the picturesque village of Bamburgh, the race will take in the breath taking views of the historic Bamburgh Castle, the Northumberland countryside and the Farne Islands and Holy Island in the distance.
Alex, who has done the Great North Run twice, says he has enjoyed the training.
“It was a bit of a shock to the system at first but I feel like we’re finding our pace,” he said.
“Dom and Joe both work at Forged Training Gym and are crazy fit. I started doing some hyrox sessions to mix up the cardio a bit which has been a killer but in a good way!”
Visit the JustGiving page if you’d like to donate.