Former Sunderland man to take on Wales Dragon's Back ultra race in aid of Hartlepool youngster

Paul Holborn will travel almost 10,000 miles from Texas in America, where he lives, to Wales for the epic 380km Dragon’s Back ultra race.

He is dedicating the race to help raise funds for 11-year-old Lana Wakefield, from Hartlepool, who has a very rare condition called PANDAS caused by a streptococcal infection.

Lana was struck down with the condition last December and has affected her speech and mobility and can leave her bed bound for weeks.

Paul, 40, who is originally from Sunderland, is related to Lana through his wife Nicki, who is from Hartlepool.

September’s Dragon’s Back race – named as the route resembles the backbone of the mythical creature – consists of running 380km from Conwy Castle to Cardiff over six days.

Paul, who works for a large construction company in Colorado, said: "This will be my biggest challenge ever, having to get up and run an ultra-marathon every day, I’m no spring chicken anymore. The route is equivalent of climbing Mount Everest twice.

"The terrain is brutal, and you just don’t know what weather you’re going to face up there.

“I have many years of boxing behind me, I was also in the parachute regiment, but I’m expecting this challenge will be tougher than them both put together.”

Lana’s parents learned about PANDAS – which stands for Pediatric Acute-onset Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcus – when researching her symptoms online after she was seen by several different GPs and underwent hospital tests.

There are said to be only four doctors in the UK who treat it, meaning Lana’s family have no choice but to go private.

It can be treated with medicine and therapy.

Paul added: “When I heard about Lana, I immediately knew I needed to help, this had to be my cause. Although I can raise money and help charities which all have great causes, you can never actually fix them.

"We all have a chance now to help Lana in the early stages of her diagnosis and cure her. We can actually change her life forever, get her a clean bill of health.”

Hartlepool charity Miles for Men is raising money via Lana's Story at justgiving.com