Waterlooville man takes on 26 miles a day cycling challenge for seriously ill children

That’s why the 47-year-old, who underwent heart surgery to save his life in 2017, is cycling 26.2 miles a day for 26 days for children battling health conditions as the nation fights coronavirus.

Richard scooped the personal achievement award at The News’ We Can Do It Awards last year after completing the Portsmouth Coastal Marathon for Cystic Fibrosis Kids Portsmouth.

But the Waterlooville man has now turned his attention to raising funds for children’s charity Spread a Smile, which gives ill children a boost while in hospital.

The charity normally delivers fairies, magicians, face-painters, therapy dogs and singers to terminally ill children and teenagers in hospital but has been forced to suspend all visits amid the pandemic.

Richard said: ‘I know what it’s like to be stuck in hospital for weeks so I just wanted to do something to help these children.

‘It must be a lot harder being at hospital with Covid-19 so I just wanted to help these children by keeping them entertained and putting a smile on their faces.’

In response the charity has launched Smile TV providing patients access to special video content made exclusively for them, via its website.

The hospital entertainment team are now recording videos, magic, singing and face-painting.

Richard, who is currently on furlough from work, is cycling the 26.2 miles around Waterlooville - with him currently on day six.

‘I’ve already cycled 140 miles. I don’t have a set route - I just make it up as I go along. I got lost the other day and ended up doing a 2,000ft elevation,’ he said.

‘I have 700 miles to do in total. I’m sure it will be be quite difficult but I wanted to do something that was a challenge.

‘I was meant to be doing the Solent swim but that was cancelled and my foot is injured at the moment so I decided to do this cycle challenge for these children who have serious and long-term conditions.’

To donate go to: www.justgiving.com/fundraising/richard-harris99

A message from the Editor

Thank you for reading this story on portsmouth.co.uk. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our advertisers - and consequently the revenue we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription.

Subscribe to portsmouth.co.uk and enjoy unlimited access to local news and information online and on our app. With a digital subscription, you can read more than 5 articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Visit our Subscription page now to sign up.

Our journalism costs money and we rely on advertising, print and digital revenues to help to support them. By supporting us, we are able to support you in providing trusted, fact-checked content for this website.