Six-year-old running 31km in December for charity after discovering sick children remain in hospital at Christmas

A six-year-old is running 31km across December after a conversation with his dad about what happens to sick children at Christmas inspired him to help.

Dan Simms, a 34-year-old PE teacher, and his son Harry, six, from Market Weighton, East Yorkshire, discovered Great Ormond Street Hospital’s 31km December challenge, and Harry jumped at the chance to raise money for medicine and gifts for children in hospital.

Harry’s loved ones, including his mother, Georgina, 33, and sister Megan, 14, couldn’t be prouder, with Harry even hoping to surpass the challenge’s 31km target.

Being part of a “very active family”, the pair needed no extra training and kicked off their challenge on December 1, running around Manchester United’s Old Trafford stadium before watching their favourite team play.

To their amazement, they smashed their initial £500 fundraising goal after the first run, raising £650, and are now excited to keep running whatever the weather.

Dan says the experience has shown Harry the joy of giving back and has helped him understand the situations of other children.

Harry told PA Real Life: “I want to get the children as much medicine as I can, and I’d like it if they got some presents from our money.”

A few weeks ago, while discussing Christmas, Harry asked his dad “what happens to the poorly children” over the festive period.

Following a “long chat” in which Dan explained that many children spend Christmas in hospital, Harry decided he wanted to find a way to help them.

After searching online together, Dan and Harry discovered a challenge set by Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) to run 31km in December.

According to GOSH, fundraising will go towards groundbreaking research, advanced equipment, children and family support services, and the rebuilding and refurbishment of wards and medical facilities within the hospital.

Harry was immediately drawn to the idea as it meant he could help make Christmas extra special for “the children and raise money for medicine”.

“Straight away, Harry said he wanted to do it, and he wants to try and do a bit more than the 31 kilometres as well,” Dan explained.

“He said he hopes the more money we raise, the more that’ll help get more medicine for children at Christmas.”

Harry’s loved ones were thrilled by his enthusiasm for the challenge.

Dan said: “It just obviously made me and Georgina feel really proud, and we both said, if you didn’t know Harry, some people think we would make it up and think it was his parents who had the idea!

“But it was him who was saying that he wanted to do something for poorly children at Christmas, we’re just so proud!

“They’re (the rest of the family) just saying again, they’re just really proud, just saying how much of a thoughtful thing it is to do for a child of his age.”

With Dan being a PE teacher and Harry being “very active” – playing football and going on walks most days after school – they did not feel the need for intensive training.

“We’re a very active family … and Harry’s like one of the most active kids you’d ever meet, he’s always wanting to do every sport and always wanting to run around,” Dan said.

This is not the pair’s first fitness challenge – last summer, they took part in a junior warrior 3km assault course in Leeds, involving crawling through lakes, running and climbing walls.

Their plan for December’s challenge is to take each day as it comes, seeing how far they can run each time.

Harry said: “Even if it’s going to be raining or snowing, we’ll still go out!”

“I think once we keep going and see our progress throughout it’ll boost us and motivate us, and hopefully we’ll be able to just keep going and going and going,” Dan added.

The duo began their challenge on December 1, coinciding with their trip to watch their favourite football team, Manchester United, play against Everton at Old Trafford.

Determined not to let the day disrupt their plans, Harry insisted they complete their first run around the stadium.

Dan said: “We did 2.5km the first day, another 2.5km after school yesterday, and 4km without stopping tonight.

“We’re just going to carry on basically, once we reach the target…we want to do a run on Christmas Day too.”

The father-and-son team set an initial fundraising target of £500, but by the end of their first run, they were thrilled to discover they had already raised an impressive £650.