A WEST Devon marathon runner exceeded his fundraising target to raise thousands of pounds to help give disabled people the chance to enjoy outdoor activities.

Gary Albon, from Tavistock, ran the London Marathon back in April to raise funds for the Calvert Trust Exmoor — a charity that provides outdoor adventure holidays for children and adults with a wide range of disabilities. He set himself a target of £4,000 but managed to raise £5,400.

Gary presented a cheque to representative of Calvert Trust Exmoor Jane Byrne last week.

He was raising money for the Calvert Trust Exmoor in memory of family friend Alex Phipps, who died from the rare condition Emanuel Syndrome at the age of just 18 in 2016. Alex, who was bound to a wheelchair, used to spend time at the Calvert Trust Exmoor abseiling and canoeing.

Gary is no stranger to marathon running, but confessed that he found the London Marathon hard due to the hot weather at the time.

‘It was horrible,’ he said. ‘It was way too hot and I started off too quickly. I had 11 people with me on the day who followed me around the course. I thought £4,000 was quite a big target so I was really pleased with £5,400. We also held a quiz night at the Market Inn and a raffle draw at Bar Rakuda in Plymouth.

‘I want to say a big thank you to everyone who supported me and I hope to do a few more fundraising things for Calvert Trust Exmoor in the future.’

Jane Byrne, representative for Calvert Trust Exmoor, said: ‘This money will make a lot of children very happy. Up at Calvert we give activity holidays for disabled children and this money will be used to help give people those breaks and hopefully give out some bursaries and improve some of the equipment.

‘It will help to put many more smiles on faces, so a big thank you to Gary.’