Fundraiser thanks community for support and generosity shown during his 24-hour event in a Warwick park

Arian van Helden with his partner Laura and son Maximilian Zale. Photo supplied

A man from Heathcote is thanking support shown by the community during his 24-hour challenge in one of Warwick's parks.

On Saturday (April 10) Arian van Helden ran the one-mile loop of St Nicholas Park for 24 hours to raise money for a 'thank you meal' for NHS members of his Be Military Fit (BMF) bootcamp group.

Arian said: "Members and spectators made this event a fantastic experience.

"I expected it to be very boring, due to doing the same lap over and over again, but because there was so much distraction, this wasn't the case at all.

"Throughout Saturday the park was heaving with people and members regularly accompanied me for a few laps.

"Going into the night I thought this would change dramatically, but I don't think I ran two hours alone. Because of this, the night passed by rather quickly.

"On Sunday the BMF stand was a true point of contact. It felt like there was much more awareness of what was going on, because there were so many smiles everywhere."

Arian also held a small competition linked with his fundraiser. He said: "People donated and filled in slips with an estimate of how many rounds I would end up doing.

"The winner of this competition is Lilly Clathworthy. She guessed I would do 123 laps and with the end result being 111 laps, she was pretty close. Lilly won a three-month BMF membership"

Speaking about running through the night Arian said: "It felt great to complete the challenge on Sunday morning.

"Coming out of the night, you always get a second wind when the sun comes up, but after a while the tiredness kicks in again.

"From that moment it's a matter of putting one foot in front of the other and keep chipping away the laps."

As of Wednesday (April 14) Arian managed to raise £2,400 on his fundraising page through his efforts,

"The fundraising has been amazing," said Arian. "I would like to express my sincere thanks and appreciation to everyone who has supported this cause and the run itself.

"It has exceeded my expectations and I am very grateful to both the local and of course the BMF community. Thank you."

To donate go to: https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/thankyounhsofbmf