A man is hoping his 100-mile charity run will spur more students to be vaccinated against meningitis B following the death of his friend.
Shaun McEntee, who only completed his first half marathon last year, is running from Kidderminster Harriers FC’s Aggborough Stadium to Anfield, home of Liverpool FC.
He hopes to raise £5,000 for Meningitis Now following the death of family friend and Liverpool fan Aaron Mills, who died from meningitis in January in Kidderminster during a break from his studies at Liverpool John Moores University.
“I’ll get through one way or another,” said McEntee, who set off earlier. “There’s too much support, there’s too many people that I’d be letting down if I [don’t].”
Although babies have routinely been vaccinated against meningitis B for more than a decade, Aaron’s age group missed out.
Following Aaron’s death, his parents Anthony and Deniz campaigned for a catch-up vaccine – and in June, the government announced a one-off programme for one million young people.