Man gives up job to walk nearly 3,000 miles across America for charity

A man from Wrexham will be giving up his job in December to walk across America for charity.

Paul Edwards started raising money for Hope House charity back in 2019 after having an 'almost an epiphany moment'.

"I woke up and decided I was going to walk from Cardiff to Wrexham and link the home of Welsh rugby and the home of Welsh football", he said.

"I had a background in long distance running and I just wanted a bit of a challenge. So I thought I'd walk solo, and I thought I'd make it for a reason or for a cause rather than just doing it for myself.

"Hope House is a charity I've done a lot for in the past, so I thought I'd do it for them."

Paul has been raising money for the charity Hope House.

After the event finished, Paul wanted to challenge himself even further.

He said: "In 2020, we were in lockdown and it was difficult to train but I announced I would go from Fort William in Scotland to my local pub in Wrexham.

"To make it a little bit more interesting, I climbed the national three peaks along the way.

"When we came out of lockdown, I agreed with work that there was one last challenge I could possibly do and that was John O'Groats to Land's End."

He's been walking the challenges dressed up as Deadpool.

For this challenge, Paul decided to dress up as Marvel superhero, Deadpool.

"I needed a gimmick or something that could spark some interest", he said.

"It was around the time where we had the interest from Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds buying Wrexham. As soon as the deal went through, that was it, it was just Deadpool.

"It created a lot of interest and raised around £16,000. It was a really good event to do and it made me realise how good people in Britain really are."

After walking from John O'Groats to Lands End, Paul decided there was one challenge left for him to push himself to the limit.

Paul will be giving up his job in December to walk across America

"The walk across America came about because it's the longest thing I think I can realistically finish so I decided that I will give my job up in December and dedicate my time to getting this pilgrimage or this journey completed.

"I think six months is what I could survive and six months is the amount of time it will take to walk the 2,800 miles from California to South Carolina."

He's raised £27,000 in the last two challenges but has lost count of how much money he's raised for charity over the years.

He's raised £27,000 in the last two challenges but has lost count of how much money he's raised for charity over the years.

He said: "We normally raise between £1,000 - £1,200 at a time and I've been doing it for over twenty years.

"The support from everybody has been fantastic. I've never done anything with any view of anything other than helping the hospice or whatever charity I'm raising money for.

"Nothing is ever done for self-promotion. It's all done for a purpose and the purpose is to raise funds.

"You just keep going. It's just one foot in front of the other. That's all you have to do."

Paul is one of the four final nominees for ITV Cymru Wales' Fundraiser of the Year Award.

The winner will join winners from the other ITV regions, for the chance to win Pride of Britain's Fundraiser of the Year.