ON:- Friday, 28 February 2025, Fundraising Officer, Alex Rigby, hopes to raise over £35,000 for local domestic abuse charity, Centre 56 by taking on a unique ultra-marathon challenge.

His 107-mile route will cover the full Merseyrail Network, visiting all 69 stations on the Wirral and Northern Lines. Beginning in Chester at 3pm, he will run to all stations on the City Region’s rail network including Ellesmere Port, West Kirby, New Brighton, Headbolt Lane, Ormskirk, and Southport before finishing at Hunts Cross.

The run, which Alex describes as his toughest challenge yet, follows a 60-mile ultra marathon taking in all Merseyrail’s Northern line stations, which he successfully completed in 2024.

Speaking about the challenge, Alex said:- “Centre 56 is such an amazing place doing vital work to support families that have experienced domestic abuse and crisis across the communities we serve. I have the privilege of seeing firsthand the incredible difference that donations can make for the families we support, and that’s why I’m doing this challenge! My feet will hurt, my legs will ache, but it’ll be worth it to make sure that families have money on the metre, food in the cupboards, and someone to turn to when things get hard.”

Centre 56 has been a place of safety and hope for families in Kirkdale for more than 50 years. The charity provides specialist nursery care for children aged 2-12 years who have experienced domestic abuse or crisis situations.

The Merseyrail team have been working closely with Centre 56, who are 1 of their 4 chosen charities for the year, to help make the challenge a success. Throughout February, posters featuring challenge information will go live on screens across the network encouraging customers travelling by train to scan the QR code and donate.

In addition to this, members of the Merseyrail team are also in training to take part in the run, with volunteers including Managing Director Neil Grabham, who will join Alex as he runs past Centre 56.

Reflecting on the run, Neil said:- “Merseyrail’s Charity of the Year programme has raised over £1m for good causes in our communities since it launched. Last year, this included raising over £30,000 for Centre 56 as we supported Alex in running to every station on our Northern lines. We are delighted to be able to offer our support again, as Alex tackles an astonishing challenge, to run the entire length of our network in just over a day. The whole team at Merseyrail are 100% behind Alex and many of us will join him in pulling on our running shoes for this vital local cause.”

Unfortunately, the work of Centre 56 has never been more needed, with violence against women and girls recently being declared an epidemic in the UK. According to Refuge, 1 in 4 women will experience domestic abuse in their lifetime and 1 woman is killed by a partner or ex-partner in England and Wales every 5 days.

Centre 56 Nursery Support Manager, Paula Graves said:- “The impact that witnessing abuse can have on children is significant and part of what we do at Centre 56 is just provide that safe and nurturing space for children to rebuild their trust in the world. What Alex plans to do is unbelievable, and we’re so grateful to have him as part of our team bringing so much awareness to Centre 56. Please do support him with this challenge if you can so that we can help little ones, and their families build futures that are free from abuse.”

To find out more about the challenge or donate, please visit Centre 56’s website.