Harvey Goodman has already raised almost £50,000 for charity
Harvey is aiming to swim 1.2 miles, cycle 56 miles and run 16 miles over the course of a weekend (Naiomi Goodman/PA)
A nine-year-old fundraiser is preparing to tackle a triathlon challenge alongside Esther Ghey, mum of murdered teenager Brianna, after being inspired by her mental health message. Harvey Goodman is no stranger to impressive challenges, having raised almost £50,000 over three events since he was six years old.
Harvey is aiming to swim 1.2 miles (1.9 km), cycle 56 miles (90 km) and run 16 miles (25.7) over the course of one weekend in May, during which he will be cheered on by supporters as he aims to raise over £30,000 to help children’s mental health and wellbeing.
Harvey, from Stockton Heath in Warrington, said he saw Ms Ghey talking about mindfulness at an awards night and “got really interested” in it. He said: “After losing someone very close to me, I wanted to do something big to honour them and to make sure other children get the support they need.”
Ms Ghey, 38, added: “Just knowing that mindfulness and well-being training has really helped Harvey means such a lot to me, because this is the end goal. We want to be able to get this into schools across the whole of England.”
Harvey will be raising money for Ms Ghey’s charity, Peace & Mind UK, which advocates for mental health awareness, equality and inclusion. Speaking about the challenge, Harvey said: “I feel really amazing – I think this will be my best challenge yet.”
Ms Ghey will be taking on the challenge too, alongside Olympic triathletes Mark and Helen Jenkins and celebrity fitness expert Joe Wicks. She said: “I am pretty nervous. I’m not as confident as Harvey is about the challenge. I think I’ve got a lot more creaks and stuff than him in my body but I think we’re going to do lots of training.”
Esther Ghey set up charity Peace & Mind UK after the murder of her daughter, Brianna(Image: PA Archive/PA Images)
Harvey and Ms Ghey will be taking part in the swim in the Orford Jubilee Neighbourhood Hub in Warrington and will set out from Stockton Heath Primary School for the running and cycling portions of the challenge. They will end the challenge at Old Trafford stadium, as Manchester United are the “best team in the world”, according to Harvey.
Harvey’s mum Naiomi Goodman, 30, participates in every aspect of her son’s challenges and leads all the training sessions. She will be taking on the full challenge ahead of time so she knows “exactly what myself, Harvey and the team will be expecting to face on the day”.
She said: “I’m super proud for him to want to take on such a big challenge, but also for such an amazing cause as well. We really want to make a difference to all those children that might be going through a tough time – we can make a difference to their lives.”
To donate to Harvey’s fundraiser, visit gofundme.com/f/Harveys-challenge
