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Schoolboy runs 300-mile coast path for charity

James Storey Freddie in a summer t-shirt with 330 miles Cornish Coastal Run logo, and turquoise shorts, bending down at a wooden bridge and smiling to the cameraJames Storey
Freddie ran the Cornish coast path to raise money for the Cornwall Wildlife Trust

An intrepid 10-year-old boy has run the entire Cornish coast path to raise money for charity.

Freddie Storey, from Pitney, near Somerton in Somerset, completed the 300-mile (482km) challenge from Plymouth, South Devon, to Bude, Cornwall, accompanied by his father.

He started in May 2023, running the path in sections - up to 18 miles (30km) a day - and crossed the finish line last month.

"The hardest bit was going up and down on the blazing hot days, and when it's really wet and you're going downhill, then you're slipping, basically," he said.

"I feel very good about it and I'm very proud of myself. I'm also sad that it's over as well."

His father, James Storey, said Freddie regularly had to sleep in the back of the car to cover some of the longer days - on one occasion they covered 33 miles (53km) over two consecutive days.

"We do run it all, there is no walking. If you absolutely have to on some gruesome steep bits, then you've got to at least bounce up them," he said.

"I would say the worst bit has been between St Ives and Zennor; the really muddy, rainy days where you are literally sliding at times, two, three, four metres down on your bottom."

"He hasn't whinged once; he just gets on with it and that's what I've been most proud of," he added.

James Storey Freddie running uphill away from the camera, wearing a t-shirt and shorts, on a clear summer's day along a narrow path with rocks as stepping stones through a field of heather James Storey
Freddie ran the coastal path in sections, twice running 18 miles in one day

Freddie also challenged himself to climb North Africa's tallest mountain - the equivalent of climbing Scafell Pike, England's highest peak, four times - sleeping in a tent in zero-degree conditions.

"He has such a big heart and loves these challenges," Mr Storey said.

"He's been an absolute legend throughout."

So far, Freddie, who was joined on the mountain trek by his eight-year-old brother, Max, has raised half of his £5,000 target for the Cornwall Wildlife Trust.

James Storey A bleak mountain landscape with Freddie and Max holding walking poles and wearing rucksacks, with two makeshift tents in the backgroundJames Storey
Freddie (L) and his eight-year-old brother, Max, trekked up North Africa's highest mountain, Mount Toubkal, to raise more money for charity

Freddie now has plans to run both the Dorset and Somerset coast paths over the next 12 months - a total of 660 miles (1062km).

In the spring of 2025 he will also be cycling 140 miles (2253km) over three days from Bodmin, Cornwall, to Sparkford, Somerset, to raise money for the Motor Neurone Disease (MND) Association.

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