Leicestershire man told he would never walk again prepares for half marathon fundraiser
A Leicestershire man, once told he would never walk again, is preparing to run a half marathon to raise money for a charity which supported him after his brain injury.
Will Perringwood, who works in Waitrose supermarket in Harborough, is taking part in the Bournemouth Half Marathon for the third year running, this Sunday.
The 41-year-old is fundraising for Headway - a national brain injury charity which supported him after he suffered a bleed on the brain.
Will – a former sports journalist – was found fitting following an early morning run in 2013.
Doctors told him he may never walk again which made Will all the more determined to do just that - and more.
He said: “The thing I enjoy about running marathons is the fact that I was told by doctors I may never walk again because of my brain injury, and the determination that was then installed within me to prove them wrong.
“The journey of learning to walk again was difficult but I had amazing support from my then girlfriend Amy, plus my parents Ann and Alan, as well as incredible support from medical personnel. Even now whenever I run, I can hear the occupational therapist’s words in my head saying ‘heal, toe, heal, toe’. It’s definitely something you can take for granted because it comes so naturally to us.”
The dad-of-one, whose son lives in Bournemouth, has also run two Leicester Half Marathons as well as the 2018 London Marathon in aid of Headway since recovering from his injury. He added: “After I had learned to walk again, I really wanted to give something back to Headway - who have helped me so much. I’ve always been a keen sportsman and I’ve always wanted to run a marathon, so first of all I ran the 2018 London Marathon which was the hottest London Marathon on record.
“With a love for running, the determination to show my brain injury would not beat me, and having seen how much money I could raise for Headway, I wanted to do more events.”
Visit www.justgiving.com/page/will-perringwood-1728292314785 to donate to Will’s cause.