Runner on track to raise more than £20,000 after railway challenge

A runner who visited all 37 stations on a railway line in a 12-hour challenge is on track to raise more than £20,000 for a domestic abuse charity.

Alex Rigby set off from Hunts Cross station in south Liverpool at 6am on Saturday and ran to every stop on Merseyrail’s Northern Line, ending his day at Kirkdale station, near the base for charity Centre 56, at about 6pm.

The 56-mile (90km) route saw the 32-year-old run to Southport and then across to Ormskirk, in West Lancashire, before heading to the network’s newest station, Headbolt Lane, which opened in Kirkby last October, and then back into Liverpool.

After he was greeted by a crowd of cheering supporters at the finish line, Mr Rigby said: “I’m feeling very tired and very sore but it was worth it for the money and the profile of the charity.”

He was joined along the way by business representatives who took on a relay, passing a baton to each other at stations, as well as fellow members of Liverpool Running Club and runners from other groups, including Marsh Lane Harriers.

He also had friends on bikes carrying supplies to keep him fed and watered during the day.

Mr Rigby, from Bootle, Merseyside, works as a fundraiser for Centre 56, which runs a nursery for children who have suffered domestic abuse as well as a food pantry and after-school club.

By Monday, he had reached his fundraising target of £20,000, with money still to be counted from collections in stations.

The ultra-marathon was not the first for Mr Rigby, who ran through every postcode in Liverpool last year, and he is already thinking about his next challenge.

To donate go to centre56.enthuse.com/profile.