Jarrow pub boss prepares for 100-mile beat-the-clock challenge on hour-change weekend in aid of guide dogs charity

Carl Mowatt, manager of The Lakeside Inn in Jarrow, will start at 1am on Saturday, March 27, and plans to finish before 1am on Sunday, March 28, the time the clocks go forward.

He is planning the challenge to raise money for the Newcastle Guide Dogs Mobility Unit.

If successful, it will be the second time in five months the 57-year-old ultrarunner has clocked up 100 miles in 24 hours.

Carl raised around £7,500 for the guide dogs charity by running 100 miles in 23 hours in October 2020, smashing his original target of £5,000 to fund a guide dog.

Now the pub boss hopes to raise at least another £2,500 so he can fund a total of two guide dogs through the charity.

He said: “The generosity of donations I received back in October was fantastic. We raised more than we needed so I thought it would be a good idea to try and push to £10,000 to get a second guide dog and give another person the gift of sight.”

The mammoth run will see Carl repeat his October route around the North East, taking in South Tyneside, North Tyneside, Gateshead, Newcastle, Northumberland, County Durham and Sunderland.

In October, Carl was greatly supported by the community and members of his running clubs, with fellow runners joining in part of the route with him.

Various North East legends, including Peter Reid, Steve Cram and Lee Clark, sent him video messages of encouragement for the challenge.

Carl has already donated the money for the first guide dog to the Newcastle Guide Dogs Mobility unit, which funded the purchase and training of a new puppy named Andy, after Carl’s late friend Andy Briggs, who was blind.

The run will be taking place on Saturday March 27 and Carl is hoping to beat the clock and finish the run before the clocks go forward at 1am the next day.

The Newcastle Guide Dogs Mobility Unit supports blind and partially sighted people across the North East and currently have around 250 guide dogs supporting residents.

To support the charity and donate ahead of the run, visit Carl’s Just Giving page at this link.

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