Eight year old Leeds schoolboy puts us all to shame with his inspiring Poppy Appeal marathon
He may be just eight but Dexter Walker was determined ( and so was his dog).
The youngster, from Yeadon, challenged himself to walk 26.2 miles across various locations from Harewood to Northumberland to support two causes close to his heart - the Poppy Appeal and his U9s football team.
The idea began when Dexter saw other people run marathons for charity on CBBC’s Newsround. Inspired, Dexter decided to walk a marathon with support of his mum, dad, grandparents and dog who is fittingly named Corporal Freddie.
Dexter said: “We decided to walk a marathon as (Corporal Freddie) can’t walk very far. My mum and dad said I should do it over a month because it would be hard for an eight-year-old to do a marathon in one go.”
From September 28 to October 31, Dexter completed a total of 11 walks, reaching a total distance of 28.2 miles. He beat his target and raised £1,340 in the process.
For each walk, Dexter wore his own army costume because it makes him feel “stronger and proud”. He also carried an army rucksack on route to store rations and wore a poppy and a World War II star medal found in a memorabilia shop in Filey.
Dexter’s own interest in military history stems from films, museums, and a grandad who served in the Navy. A majority of the money he has raised will go to the Poppy Appeal to honour those who have served.
Dexter said: “I like the military - they are heroes and I know poppies are for heroes.”
Meanwhile, £300 will go to help fund his U9s football team presentation awards at the end of the football season.
Dexter’s dad Dominic said that he was impressed his son came up with the challenge idea and committed to the entire distance.
Dominic said: “I’m so proud. It’s a feat that’s probably beyond his years in terms of taking full responsibility. We created a walk plan at the beginning and he had ideas of which destinations he wanted to go to and took on responsibility to ensure that he did it even on days where he didn’t feel like he wanted to.”
Since Dexter’s marathon month began, he’s faced challenges including one walk being disrupted by Storm Amy.
Dominic said: “We had seen the weather and I thought we can’t walk that week. But when it got to it, (Dexter) like any young boy, loves rain and mud and just saw it as another adventure.”
Since finishing his final walk on Bamburgh Beach which was used as a strategic line of defence in World War II, Dexter has had many “high fives and fist bumps” from “amazed” school friends.
He encouraged anyone thinking of taking on a charity challenge to give it a go.
Dexter said: “It will be tough but keep going.
“My top tip: always have a ham and cheese wrap with tomato sauce to get you through.”
To donate to Dexter’s fundraiser, visit his GoFundMe page.