County Durham boy, 8, with stoma raises over £1k for charity with 31 day running challenge
An eight-year-old boy with a stoma from County Durham is running 31 miles in 31 days to raise awareness of stomas.
Jack Dale, from Peterlee, was fitted with a stoma in 2022. He's running a 1 mile route around Shotton Recreation Park, everyday in October.
Jack has already raised £1000 for Colostomy UK and said he hopes to inspire other people with stomas like him.
He said: "Even if you have a stoma you can do anything that normal people can do. Do sport and run a mile like I do."
His brother 9-year-old brother Thomas Dale, who is completing the challenge alongside his brother, said: "We want to tell people who have stomas that they can do anything even if they have stoma, they are not different to anyone else."
He added: "It is really special because we know how many people want to help my brother raise money for stomas and to feel they are not excluded from anything else.
"It's a bit hard but I'll keep going."
Jack was inspired to pick up his running challenge by fellow stoma sportsperson Gill Castle.
The mum from Alnwick in Northumberland became the first person with a stoma to swim the English Channel last month.
She has raised around £45,000 for her charity Chameleon Buddies.
Jack's mum Zoe Dale said taking up the challenge has improved her son's confidence.
She said: "Its absolutely amazing seeing the boys run a mile every day and the support we are having from the wider community is absolutely unreal.
"This has helped Jack's confidence 100%. Jack will change his stoma bag in front of stranger who he doesn't really know and he wouldn't have done that four weeks ago.
"It has helped Jack massively, inside and outside of school.
"I just want to say thank you to everyone who has been supporting Jack and when living with a stoma you are no different to any others and that is the biggest point to get across."
A stoma is an opening on the surface of the abdomen which has been surgically created to divert the flow of faeces or urine and is used to treat a range of illnesses.
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