A RUNNER collapsed before completing the challenge of doing 12 park runs in one day.

Paul Stainthorpe, 34, from Newton Hall, Durham, felt his legs buckle beneath him after completing his 11th 5km run at tea time on Saturday (December 21).

Together with 33-year-old Lee Nyland, from Brandon, he has been running in parks across the North-East from 5am that day to raise money for Tiny Lives at the RVI, in Newcastle.

They were about to head for Riverside Park, in Chester-le-Street, for their final run when Mr Stainthorpe had to be taken to the RVI himself for treatment.

He said: “I fell back and whacked my arm and hit my head. I was not unconscious but I was freezing cold.

“It is quite ironic because I was in the hospital and that is where the charity is based.

“I was there for about three and a half hours. It was a bit of a sad end to a great day because it had been going great. My head was saying ‘we are going to do it’ but my body just shut down. I could not take any more.”

Mr Stainthrope was put on a drip, but allowed to go home later that evening.

The event has still raised £800 for the charity.

They started at Blackhill, near Consett, at 5am before running in Shildon, Sedgefield, Darlington, Tees Barrage, two parks in Middlesbrough, Sunderland, South Shields and Newcastle.

They had to abandon plans to run at Saltwell Park, in Gateshead, because it closed when it got dark.

Last year, Mr Stainthorpe was dubbed Father Fitness as he raised around £1,000 after completing his 12 Days of Christmas running challenge.

The father-of-two ran at locations relevant to the gifts given on each day in the traditional song The 12 Days of Christmas to raise money for the Percy Hedley Foundation, which works with disabled children.

To support Saturday’s challenge visit justgiving.com/the12parkrunsofchristmas