00:00It's a running challenge that's taken Alex Rigby across miles of railway lines, through city stations and even under the
00:07Mersey, all in the name of raising money for a domestic abuse charity.
00:11It feels surreal, to be fair, it's something that you don't expect, maybe from Liverpool, it's just you're just doing
00:16your job, raising awareness and raising funds and when you get that acknowledgement it's great for the charity, family and
00:21friends and just everyone associated with the charity really.
00:25The 34-year-old's been awarded a British Empire Medal in the King's Birthday Honours for his fundraising work through
00:31a series of ultra-marathon events called Running the Railways.
00:34He's raised more than £80,000 for Liverpool-based charity Centre 56, which supports families affected by domestic abuse.
00:42Centre 56 is a domestic abuse charity based in Kirkdale, supports families and victims of domestic violence, crisis and trauma.
00:50But the reason I wanted to support him is very close to where I live, it's something that's struck a
00:54chord with me from my very young age, but also working with families and domestic abuse for a long time
01:00when I was working in the prison service.
01:01But for me personally, wanting to raise awareness, I look at what Kevin Sinfield's done and running challenges and you've
01:07got to do something crazy nowadays to get the name out there and I think doing these mad runs has
01:12been the best thing for it.
01:13In 2024, he ran 56 miles visiting every station on Mersey Rail's northern line before expanding the challenge the following
01:21year to cover the full network, completing 109 miles including the rail tunnel beneath the Mersey.
01:26I think the running's not the tough bit, I think the planning and delegating, getting the businesses involved, getting them
01:32in the right place at the right time, that's the tough bit.
01:34But also, you know, just enjoying the day is the main thing. It's a celebration more than anything. It's getting
01:40people out there to make lasting memories and what people go away from is talking about Centre 56.
01:45Yeah, so my mum, first of all, she's been my biggest supporter since I was a very young age. I
01:50get emotional thinking about it because she has been such a huge supporter in so many ways.
01:54So obviously I'm going to tell my mum straight away, but I'm going to obviously spend the night in London
02:00with my girlfriend Hannah and just have a great night, hopefully.
02:03Speaking about the award, he described it as a shock, adding that the running challenges were among the hardest and
02:08best things he's ever done.
02:10It's surreal. It's something that you don't expect, as I say. When you go out to do these challenges, you're
02:17not thinking of that stuff and to know that's happened, it just makes you feel inspired to want to do
02:22more, to help people more.
02:24And just because you've received it doesn't mean things stop. You want to do more and just keep helping as
02:28many people.
02:29Alex is now preparing for his next endurance challenge, when he'll run a five kilometre route between two stations every
02:35hour for 24 hours.
02:37It's surreal. As I say, Kevin Simfield's been a huge inspiration of mine for many years now.
02:42And to be on the same list as him is something I'm going to really, really cherish because, you know,
02:47he has been somebody who I've looked and thought, you know, he's got the name M&D on the map.
02:51And I'm just made up that he's got the accolades he deserves as well.
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