This Pendle dad is going to be walking 54 laps of Pendle Hill to raise money in memory of his mum

Carl Hodgson doing the Three Yorkshire Peaks on a recent training walk

Carl Hodgson, of Fence, will be walking 54 laps on the front triangle of Pendle Hill within a 65-hour window between Friday and Sunday.

The walk will total 75 miles with an elevation gain of 27,000ft – the height of Everest is 29,000ft.

Carl’s mum, Maureen Hodgson, of Burnley, died in January from cancer and all the money he raises from this challenge will go to Pendleside Hospice.

Carl said: “She remained positive to the very end and her worries were never about herself; only about the family and friends she would leave behind.

“In her last few weeks she was cared for by the amazing staff at Pendleside Hospice – we'd always been told they did an incredible job and here we were learning first-hand about their work.

“When mum died, my brother Neil and I wanted to give something back to say thank you for all that the hospice team did for her and for all of us.

“I racked my brain for what I might do – and found myself doing a lot of walking...and thinking and I finally decided on this fitting challenge.”

The 54 laps of Pendle represent the year Carl’s mum was born and on May 18th she would have been 65.

He said: “I've been in training and with 10 laps taking around 5 hours I aim to be walking around 10 hours a day each day and (fingers crossed) an early finish on the Sunday.

“I did the Yorkshire Three Peaks a few weeks ago in preparation and I now feel prepared and just hope the weather is on my side."

Carl is almost at his fundraising target of £5,000 and he has been overwhelmed by the incredible support from family and friends and from anonymous donors.

“I can’t thank people enough for their generous donations and kind words; they really have kept me motivated.

"There’s still time to donate through my JustGiving page and if anyone is thinking of going up Pendle that weekend, please join me for a few laps; I’m thinking it will get a touch boring after a while.”

To sponsor Carl, visit https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/carl-hodgson2