Coventry Great-Grandfather Repeats Year-Long Charity Walking Challenge

A great-grandfather from Coventry has commenced a charitable initiative, committing to walk 10 miles daily for a year, undertaking this challenge for the second occasion. Tony Cunningham, aged 75, is collecting donations for Molly Ollys, a children’s charity located in Warwick. His initial participation in this challenge occurred in 2022, during which he covered a distance exceeding 5,000 miles—approximately 10 million steps—over a period of 365 days. He commented, “Walking 10 miles a day every day isn’t easy, but I knew that when I set out to do it and the same applies this time around.” Mr. Cunningham initiated his 365-day walking commitment on 30 November. While he intends to complete daily circuits of Coventry’s Memorial Park, on Thursday he will shift his location to the CBS Arena, Coventry City FC’s home ground, to walk 10 miles around its pitch. Former City player David Busst will accompany him, stating: “When we heard about the charity and Tony’s fantastic fundraising ambitions to support it… it was an inspiration to us all the club and Sky Blues in the Community.” Rachel and Tim Ollerenshaw established Molly Ollys in 2011, after their eight-year-old daughter Molly passed away from a rare kidney cancer. Mr. Cunningham expressed that the cause held deep personal significance for him. He shared, “My late wife and I lost twins in my first marriage when I was just 21.” He further detailed, “One was stillborn and one died in my arms on the way to the hospital. Even though it was 50 years ago that torments me to this day. There’s not a day goes by when I don’t think about that.” Mr. Cunningham, a recipient of a quadruple heart bypass, indicated his understanding of the magnitude of the forthcoming challenge, having previously completed it. He remarked, “I’m three years older.” He concluded, “I’m sure there’ll be days where I’ll ask myself ‘what have I let myself in for?’ But once you’ve signed up for it you don’t want to let anyone down.”