'Huddersfield hero' planning huge 24-hour trek for cause close to his heart


Huddersfield man Stephen Collins is to do a 24-hour trek around Greenhead Park to raise money for a charity close to his heart.

The 65-year-old – who needs a rollator frame to walk – tackled his toughest ever fundraising challenge in April by walking 7.5 miles from Slaithwaite to Castle Hill, including scaling the foreboding Lockwood Scar which is one of Huddersfield’s steepest roads.

He did it in eight hours to raise more than £2,377 for Ruddi’s Retreat in Slaithwaite, smashing his target of £1,500.

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The charity provides free caravan breaks for families with children battling serious illnesses such as cancer, have life-limiting conditions or have suffered bereavement. Ruddi’s has four caravans on the Primrose Valley Holiday Park near Filey and a fifth near Blackpool.

Stephen Collins is preparing to walk around Greenhead Park for 24 hours for a special cause -Credit:Andy Hirst
Stephen Collins is preparing to walk around Greenhead Park for 24 hours for a special cause -Credit:Andy Hirst

Now Stephen wants to raise more money for Ruddi’s so on Saturday, September 14, he will be walking around Greenhead Park for 24 hours, starting at 10am. Stephen is a familiar sight there as he does most of his training in the park and has become something of a cult figure to people taking part in the 5k Parkrun every Saturday morning.

It takes him about an hour to do a circuit of the park so hopes to get 24 laps under his belt by the time he finishes at 10am on Sunday. Each lap is just over a mile so he’ll be doing around the distance of a marathon over the 24 hours with a breather every 90 minutes or so.

“I’m confident I’ll do it, to be honest,” said Stephen. “It’s all about getting some momentum and keeping going. I just hope it doesn’t rain.”

Ruddi’s Retreat assistant manage Vicki Green and Stephen’s daughter, Rose, will be walking with Stephen all night and supporters will be with him all day with collection buckets and people are urged to donate what they can to spur Stephen on.

Stephen is already planning more extreme fundraising next year.

Stephen Collins smiling with relief after walking up Lockwood Scar -Credit:Andy Hirst
Stephen Collins smiling with relief after walking up Lockwood Scar -Credit:Andy Hirst

He will be 66 on Monday, April 21, 2025 and to mark it will take on his ultimate challenge, walking 12.5 miles from Slaithwaite to Emley Moor mast which he thinks will take 15 hours.

He hopes both walks will raise a combined total of £10,000 for Ruddi’s.

Stephen, who lives in Longwood with wife Sally, has cerebral palsy and doctors told his parents when he was a baby he would never walk but, continually encouraged and supported by his parents, Stephen certainly proved the medics wrong.

He has done several sponsored walks before – including 35 miles in a week around Greenhead Park - to raise thousands of pounds for Cancer Research UK after losing both his dad, Walter, and sister-in-law, Maureen, to cancer.

Stephen was well-known as an entrepreneur, running his own successful mobility equipment business, Lazarus Mobility, and was mentored by Dragons Den star Duncan Bannatyne.

Stephen's JustGiving page can be found here

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