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Coronavirus Kent: Ashford dad Rob Playford holds lockdown triathlon to raise money

An Ashford dad is doing a social distancing triathlon, while hospice fundraising plans are put on hold due to the coronavirus.

Rob Playford from Kennington hopes to run from the town's Pilgrims Hospice branch to Canterbury's centre before running back again.

Rob Playford is setting himself a series of challenges to raise money for the hospice charity. (34529177)
Rob Playford is setting himself a series of challenges to raise money for the hospice charity. (34529177)

So far, his fundraising page has gained about £900 for the late life charity.

Speaking about the 50km marathon, the 41-year-old said: "This came about last June, when my wife's mum passed away while in care at the Ashford hospice.

"They took great care of her and I decided I wanted to do something for them and they said there's the option of the Ashford 10km or the London Marathon.

"But I wanted to do something more personal and we realised it was a nice 50km round trip between the Ashford and Canterbury hospices via Wye.

"We were planning to do it this month while the weather's nice, but with Covid-19 we've had to put that on hold."

The Canterbury Pilgrims Hospice will mark the half-way point when Mr Playford does get to carry out his original plan
The Canterbury Pilgrims Hospice will mark the half-way point when Mr Playford does get to carry out his original plan

Still training for the 50km, the father-of-one decided to set himself an "interim" challenge using his Strava account to track his distance.

Called the 'Rob-athlon', Mr Playford will be doing a consecutive 10km run around his garden, a 25km bike ride for his daily outdoor exercise finished off with a half-marathon or 21.1km row on his rowing machine.

He said: "While my wife's mum was in there, everything they did was phenomenal. They were amazing in supporting her and the family during her final time with us and afterwards.

"These events are all about giving back to them and saying thank you for everything."

The KM Group is committed to helping the community through the KM Charity team. For more information and to find out what other good causes you can get involved in click here.

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