A FATHER and charity governor has completed a Navy Seal challenge to run four miles… every four hours… for 48 hours – to support a charity which has had a ‘life-changing’ impact on his son.
James Barrett completed the ‘gruelling’ task over the weekend in aid of Centrepoint’s complex needs care facility, The Space, which his six-year-old son regularly attends.
Mr Barrett, who is also a Centrepoint governor, explained that he first heard about former US Navy Seal David Goggins’s 4x4x48 challenge as part of a training regime outlined in the book Living with a SEAL.
Ahead of the challenge, Mr Barrett said that using the demanding 4x4x48 event to raise money for charity Centrepoint was particularly poignant, as it highlights how ‘caring for children with additional needs is a 24/7 job’.
The father-of-three explained how The Space – Centrepoint’s specialised facility for children aged four to 11 with complex or additional needs – had been ‘life-changing’ for his son Teddy and their family as a whole. Elodie also uses Centrepoint’s play care facility.
He said that The Space had provided Teddy with ‘fantastic opportunities’, including trips to Jump Jersey and Samarès Manor, as well as baking and cycling sessions.
The Space also gives Mr Barrett a chance to spend quality time with his two other young children, Elodie and Amelie.
After completing the final run of the challenge on Sunday afternoon on the five mile road in St Ouen’s Bay, Mr Barrett said that it had gone ‘really well’.
Eight other runners, including Centrepoint chief executive Jane Moy, braved the full 4x4x48 challenge alongside Mr Barrett, while around 20 members of Centrepoint’s staff took on the relay version of the run.
Friends and family members joined at various points along the way for encouragement.
Mr Barrett and the other runners have so far raised just over £7,800 of their £9,000 target, which he described as a ‘brilliant effort from all involved’.
He thanked the event’s main sponsor, Intertrust, and added: ‘We are so grateful to each and every individual sponsor. I hope it has also helped raise awareness of Centrepoint and The Space unit to the wider community as the only provider of a full-time after-school and holiday club for children with disabilities and complex needs.’
Mr Barrett admitted that it was ‘hard to put into words’ what the challenge meant to him on a personal level as a Centrepoint governor and the father of children who access the charity’s facilities.
He explained: ‘The level of support and care that Centrepoint offer to Teddy when he is at The Space and in turn how that benefits the family as a whole is amazing; knowing that this challenge will help with that going forward and to assist all the other families in a similar situation is amazing.’
Looking ahead, Mr Barrett hopes to make the 4x4x48 challenge an annual event. Next year’s run is already planned for 17-19 May, with the potential for another less intense 4x4x24 variation and a children’s event to be held.
However, Mr Barrett admitted that he would probably be in charge of the organisation next year, rather than taking part himself, although he hinted that he had ‘a couple of other personal challenges in mind’.
– Islanders can donate to the Centrepoint 4x4x48 fundraiser at: sportsgiving.co.uk/sponsorship/race/3347.
