Sheffield's ‘Captain Tobias’ set to complete SECOND fundraising marathon

A disabled Sheffield schoolboy who raised over £100,000 after walking a marathon during lockdown is gearing up to complete the final leg of his second charity challenge.
By Alana Roberts
Published 30th Jul 2020, 07:16 BST
'Captain' Tobias pictured with his mum Ruth Garbutt ahead of the completion of his second marathon on Saturday'Captain' Tobias pictured with his mum Ruth Garbutt ahead of the completion of his second marathon on Saturday
'Captain' Tobias pictured with his mum Ruth Garbutt ahead of the completion of his second marathon on Saturday

Nine-year-old Tobias Weller, who has cerebral palsy and autism, captured the nations’ hearts when he finished his ‘ginormous’ marathon challenge in just 70 days using his walker to raise money for The Children's Hospital Charity and Paces School, where he attends.

But ‘Captain Tobias’, as he became known in honour of WWII veteran Captain Sir Tom Moore, decided to take his fundraising efforts one step further and just weeks later kick-started his second marathon challenge, this time using a specially-designed race runner.

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Never having run before in his life, it has taken Tobias 40 days, through wind and rain, to finish his second challenge using a specially designed race-runnerNever having run before in his life, it has taken Tobias 40 days, through wind and rain, to finish his second challenge using a specially designed race-runner
Never having run before in his life, it has taken Tobias 40 days, through wind and rain, to finish his second challenge using a specially designed race-runner
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His supporters, many of whom couldn't be there the first time round due to Covid-19 restrictions, are now expected give him a massive cheer when he sets off to complete the final sprint to reach his 26.2 mile goal on Saturday morning outside his Beauchief home.

Tobias’ mum, Ruth Garbutt, said: “He’s performed on the race runner better than we could have imagined in our wildest dreams. The first time he got on it, on June 14 when he started the challenge, he did a few steps of running but most of it was walking.

"Now he's built it up and he can run in bursts and get some speed up and feel the wind in his hair. It’s life-changing for him to experience what running is like and it’s amazing for me to see, we never thought he’d be able to run and now he can.”

The young fundraiser has now raised over £132,000 through both challenges and the sales of specially designed T-shirts adorned with his slogan ‘chuffed to bits’.

'Captain' Tobias will embark on the final walk and run on Yorkshire Day this Saturday in his street in Beauchief supported by his mum Ruth Garbutt'Captain' Tobias will embark on the final walk and run on Yorkshire Day this Saturday in his street in Beauchief supported by his mum Ruth Garbutt
'Captain' Tobias will embark on the final walk and run on Yorkshire Day this Saturday in his street in Beauchief supported by his mum Ruth Garbutt
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Around 150 have already been sold, with many onlookers expected to be wearing them to watch Tobias complete his final 1.2km stretch this weekend.

Ms Garbutt added: “I’m just bursting with pride. He’s been out in the wind, rain – it hasn’t been half as kind to us as it was in the first one but he hasn't questioned it. After this, he’ll be having a well-deserved break but I’m sure he’d love to do more fundraising in the future.”

To donate to Tobias’ fund visit: www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/ruth-garbutt-3.

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Related topics:SheffieldTom Moore