By Lucy Caulkett-
Seven elite local athletes are taking on a gruelling seven-day endurance challenge to mark the 60th birthday of EuroMillions winner Frances Connolly and raise money for the charitable trust she established with her husband after their life-changing lottery win.
The “60 for 60 Challenge” will see the athletes tackle seven different events across running, swimming and cycling, collectively covering 60 miles in seven days in aid of the Connollys’ PFC Trust, which supports community projects and good causes across the North East of England. The challenge runs from 6 to 13 September and culminates with the Great North Run.
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The challenge is being organised by sports coaches at The Extra Yard and is intended not simply as a birthday celebration but as a tribute to Connolly’s years of philanthropic work in the region.The seven athletes are George Craggs, Keith Hutchinson, Zander Gribbon, Joe Wilson, Jacob Brown, Adam Brooks and Max Creasey. Their events range from a 400-metre sprint to a 13.1-mile half marathon, with the combined target amounting to 60 miles.
Craggs will take on the 400 metres, while Keith Hutchinson, a former World Masters champion, will run 800 metres. Zander Gribbon will compete over 5km and Joe Wilson over 10km. Jacob Brown will swim one mile, while cyclist Adam Brooks will tackle a 55km time trial. The challenge will conclude with half-marathon specialist Max Creasey running the 13.1-mile Great North Run course.
The organisers have set demanding targets for each athlete. Hutchinson is expected to run his 800 metres at close to 15mph, while Wilson is aiming to maintain a pace of less than five minutes per mile across the 10km distance. Brown will swim continuously for a mile, and Brooks will attempt to complete his 55km cycling time trial at an average speed of more than 20mph.
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Creasey will bring the challenge to its climax at the Great North Run on Sunday 13 September, where he is targeting a sub-70-minute half marathon. He will be joined during the race by Paul Hewitson of The Extra Yard, who has spearheaded the challenge. Hewitson said the idea came from Hutchinson and was developed to celebrate Connolly’s birthday while giving something back to the community.
He said the money raised would go back into the local community and that Connolly had set an example through her work supporting people and community organisations. Connolly, who became a household name after she and her husband Patrick won approximately £115 million on EuroMillions in 2019, said she was overwhelmed that the athletes wanted to mark her birthday in such a way. She has previously said that the couple have given away roughly half of their lottery winnings over the years.
The PFC Trust was established after the couple’s win and has become the principal vehicle for much of their community philanthropy in the North East. The Trust says its purpose is to improve people’s lives and life chances across the region and to support organisations and projects already working within local communities. Its work has extended well beyond traditional grant-making.
Among the projects associated with the Trust are initiatives aimed at tackling loneliness among older people, helping older residents access digital technology, providing emergency food parcels and supporting young carers with respite breaks. The Trust has also funded respite caravans, allowing young carers to take holidays and temporary breaks from their caring responsibilities, and has supported the installation of defibrillators at local sports clubs.
The loneliness work is particularly significant because social isolation among older people can be difficult to tackle through conventional financial assistance alone. The Trust has supported projects designed to bring people together and help those at risk of becoming isolated, while its digital-technology support has sought to help older people participate in an increasingly online society. These projects illustrate the Trust’s broader approach of supporting existing community organisations rather than attempting to deliver every service itself.
The Trust says it works with a range of partners and provides different forms of assistance, including funding, training and capacity-building support. Its stated objective is to help organisations become more sustainable while improving the lives of people across the North East. That community focus is also reflected in the athletes’ challenge.
Connolly has previously acknowledged that even a multimillion-pound fortune cannot solve poverty or address every social problem. Instead, she has repeatedly emphasised the role of volunteers and community involvement. The 60 for 60 campaign reflects that philosophy. Rather than Connolly simply marking her milestone birthday with a private celebration, the athletes are using it as an opportunity to raise additional funds for projects in the region.
Connolly said the athletes had wanted to “put something back into the community” and described their decision to undertake the challenge as an especially meaningful birthday present.
The PFC Trust has invited businesses, organisations and members of the public to support the challenge. Its fundraising campaign allows people to sponsor individual athletes, particular miles or contribute through community sponsorship. The campaign is being hosted through JustGiving, with the Trust saying the money raised will support its community work.
The seven-day challenge also reflects the relationship that has developed between Connolly’s philanthropy and local sport. The PFC Trust has previously supported Hutchinson during his international Masters athletics career, while the athletes involved in the 60 for 60 challenge have become connected to Connolly and her charitable work through the region’s sporting community.
The challenge for Hutchingson and his fellow athletes,carries a significance beyond the physical distances involved. Each competitor has a demanding individual target, but the wider objective is collective: to convert sporting achievement into additional support for community organisations and people in need. The campaign comes as Connolly reaches 60 with a very different public profile from the one she had before the lottery win.
The former social worker and teacher has spent much of the years since the £115 million jackpot using her wealth to support causes in the North East. Her philanthropy has included assistance for vulnerable families, young carers, older people and grassroots organisations.
The couple’s lottery win transformed their personal finances overnight, but the PFC Trust has subsequently attempted to turn some of that good fortune into longer-term community investment. Now, as Connolly reaches her 60th birthday, seven athletes are seeking to add to that legacy — one sprint, run, swim, cycle and mile at a time.
The final test will come on 13 September, when Creasey takes on the Great North Run and attempts to complete the 13.1-mile course in under 70 minutes. The seven athletes will have completed their separate challenges and, collectively, the symbolic 60 miles that give the campaign its name.
The significance is likely to lie less in the sporting records than in what follows them: another fundraising effort aimed at the community that she and Patrick Connolly have made the focus of their philanthropy since their extraordinary lottery win.
And for the athletes, the message from the organisers is straightforward — the challenge may last just seven days, but its intended impact is meant to last considerably longer.
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