The 30 epic challenges that a Sunderland runner aims to complete in just a year

Anthony McDermott outside Segedunum in Wallsend on his first challenge.

To celebrate turning 30, Anthony McDermott, from Barnes, has put together a list of 30 tasks in a bid to raise £30,000 for a city hospice.

He decided to give something back to his local hospice after his father-in-law, Lewis Binyon, received treatment for bowel and pancreatic cancer at St Benedict’s in Ryhope.

Anthony McDermott plans to take part in this summer's Great North Run.

Anthony, a member of the Sunderland Strollers running club, set himself the target and aims to tick off the list throughout 2016.

He said: “I wanted to do something a bit special with turning 30 and give something back to the hospice at the same time, because they’ve been brilliant.

“So I came up with raising £30,000, in 30 events, in my 30th year.”

Anthony’s first event, which raised £600, entailed him running the length of Hadrian’s Wall, from Bowness on Solway to Carlisle – an 87mile, 30-plus hour marathon feat.

It saw him running across an entire weekend, including having to return home for a couple of hours when his teammate Scott Baker was injured.

He added: “I grabbed a couple of hours sleep and I could have stayed where I was, but I thought ‘I’m just going to go and finish it’.

“My feet were blistered to bits and we had about a seven-mile detour because of the flooding in Carlisle.

“It was great to finally finish on the Sunday afternoon.”

Other events lined-up include being waxed, a sky dive, Sunderland Half Marathon, the Great North Run, Edinburgh Marathon, a Tough Mudder and the Stadium of Light step challenge.

Catrina Flynn, fundraising manager at St Benedict’s Hospice, said: “We’re so grateful to Anthony.

“He’s set himself a real challenge – not only to deliver every time, but also to come up with 30 ways for him to raise the money.

“We’ll be cheering him on every step of the way.”

Anthony, who works as an account manager for Sun FM, is still searching for challenges as he puts together his “to do” list for the year.

Anyone who would like to put ideas forward can post them via the hospice’s Facebook page and Twitter account @stbenedicts1984.

Donations can be made through website www.justgiving.com/sunderland30for30/

Care at the hospice is provided by the NHS as part of South Tyneside NHS Foundation Trust and supported by its charity.