Last updated at 14:21, Monday, 28 May 2012

FOR many people a 40-mile walk is enough to last them a lifetime.

BRAVE DUO: Alice Pyne with uncle Gary Pennington, who walked the Keswick to Barrow route for a second time in two weekends SUBMITTED

But Gary Pennington took inspiration from his niece Alice Pyne to complete a mammoth trek twice in a week.

Only seven days after taking part in the Keswick to Barrow as part of Team Alice, Mr Pennington, 46, set off on his own to do the walk again.

The challenge came about after Mr Pennington, who is a control centre manager at Agilisys in Barrow, boasted to other team members, who were raising money for his niece’s charity Alice’s Escapes, that he would be happy to do the walk again.

He told the Evening Mail: “After doing the walk the first time all the team members were comparing blisters, aches and pains.

“But I said ‘To be honest, I don’t have any aches, pains or blisters. I’m fine, I could do it again’.

“It all started from there really and I said I was happy to do it if we could raise more money. The team said I should do it again and then on Facebook someone said I should do it the following Saturday. By last Friday, I had raised £300 so I did it on the Saturday. I got someone to give me a lift down and I set off myself.

“The second walk went fine as well. It was different doing it on my own with no support around. I had to make the use of a couple of coffee shops and a pub as well. It rained for the first two hours, but it cleared up in the afternoon.”

Mr Pennington completed the walk in around nine hours, a similar time to his first effort a week earlier, and has raised a further £500.

But Mr Pennington, brother of Alice’s mum Vicky, said his challenge paled in significance to what his niece has achieved.

He said: “The money raised and also the raising the charity’s profile has made it all worth it.”

First published at 13:27, Monday, 28 May 2012
Published by http://www.nwemail.co.uk