A Whitleigh man is in training for the London Marathon and aims to raise funds for the homeless and people with addictions.
Wayne Wheeler, who is 52, had his own battle with drug and alcohol addiction earlier in his life and now hopes to raise £2,500 for the Salvation Army, who do so much good work for people who are struggling.
It will be Wayne’s first marathon – but he has completed several half marathons in the past and will be taking part in this year’s Plymouth Half Marathon with his 23-year-old son Zach.
A former professional boxer Wayne is now an active member of St Chad’s Church in Whitleigh having become a Christian two years ago.
Wayne was born and brought up in Whitleigh and had a challenging home life as a child, with lots of rows and arguments.
He struggled at school with reading and writing because of dyslexia and obsessive compulsive disorder and was frequently punished for misbehaving.
In his 20s Wayne mixed with the wrong crowd in Stonehouse and his lifestyle spiralled into chaos. By the age of 21 he was homeless and had become heavily involved in drug dealing as well as other crime.
He ended up living in run down property in Stonehouse until his mum and sister persuaded him to go home.
They managed to secure a place for Wayne at Broadreach – a rehabilitation centre in Plymouth – where he spent 13 weeks, before spending eight months at another drug treatment centre in Cornwall.
It was a turning point in Wayne’s life as he embarked on the the Twelve Steps, a recovery programme originated by Alcoholics Anonymous. It provides a spiritual foundation for personal recovery from the effects of life-controlling addictions.
Raising funds for charity is nothing new for Wayne. He has raised money for Broadreach
and organisations helping victims of abuse in the past which included abseiling off Drake Circus.
Wayne said:
“My passion now is to help other people less fortunate than me and I’m so pleased to have got a place in the London Marathon on October 2 to support the Salvation Army.”
Wayne trains in the gym on a daily basis and also helps run boxing classes at St Chad’s alongside the vicar, Rob Fowler, who was also a keen boxer in his youth. Wayne is helping others to train for the upcoming half marathon and also coaching a man who wants to take part in white collar boxing.
Wayne, who is a support worker, said:
“Despite my age I’m still pretty fit and I’m really looking forward to taking part in the London Marathon.”
Wayne has a fund-raising page on Just Giving and would welcome any donations. To support his efforts go to www.justgiving.com/Waynewheeler22
