An 11-year-old boy from Penzance has raised more than £1,400 for a children’s hospice after completing a running challenge throughout one of the wettest months of the year.
Lochie has developed a passion for fundraising after a visit to Bristol 2 years ago left a lasting impression. While there, he was struck by the number of people experiencing homelessness and became determined to help.
“He was really upset by what he saw,” said his mother, Rebecca. “He gave what money he had at the time, but when we came home, he wanted to do more.”
That determination led to his first fundraiser, a bake sale at school. This sparked what Rebecca describes as his “new thing”. Since then, Lochie has been keen to organise regular fundraising efforts, spacing them out across the year.
This winter, he set himself his biggest challenge yet, running 40 miles over the course of February in aid of Children’s Hospice South West (CHSW), raising money for Little Harbour near St Austell.
His choice of charity was a personal one. Rebecca explained that family connections had helped Lochie understand the importance of the hospice’s work.
“My sisters have done a lot of fundraising for Little Harbour over the years, and one of the children they taught was cared for there,” she said. “More recently, a friend’s daughter has started using it for respite care.”
Lochie’s running challenge ended up raising an incredible £1,468.75.
“I had it in my head that if we got to £500 that would be amazing,” Rebecca said.
When it reached into the thousands, we were completely blown away.
The challenge itself was far from easy. February’s persistent rain made conditions tough, but Lochie remained committed.
“He picked a really hard month,” Rebecca said.
It was dark, wet, and cold, but the generosity of people sponsoring him gave him the motivation to keep going.
Balancing the challenge alongside school and football commitments added to the difficulty, but Lochie spread the miles across the month, running whenever he could. Throughout it all, he remained focused and found joy in regularly checking his fundraising page and taking encouragement from messages of support.
“We’re quite active on social media and people were so kind,” Rebecca said. “The first thing he wanted to do every morning was look at his total and see how it was growing.”
Lochie, who has Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID), faced additional challenges during the fundraiser. The condition can affect appetite and hydration, meaning Rebecca had concerns about how the increased physical effort might impact his energy levels.
“He doesn’t always get hunger or thirst cues, so I was worried about him burning a lot more calories,” she explained. “We managed to get him having Huel, which took some effort, but helped keep his energy up.”
Despite this, Lochie showed remarkable resilience.
“I was amazed by how motivated he was,” Rebecca said.
Even on dark, rainy nights, he just kept going.
After completing the challenge, Lochie visited Little Harbour to see first-hand the impact of his efforts.
“He loved going up there to have his photo taken,” she said. “It felt like everything came full circle especially when we went on a sunny day in April after such a tough February. He could really see that all his hard work was worth it.”
Lochie had previously raised a few hundred pounds for St Petrocs, a homelessness charity, but this latest achievement marks a significant milestone in his fundraising journey.
Rebecca believes his drive comes from his sensitive and empathetic nature.
“He feels things very deeply,” she said. “And if he can turn that into something positive, that’s how he copes.”
With such a strong start, it seems likely this young fundraiser’s efforts are far from over.