New Era Boxing Club coach running for Aaron Dixon Memorial Fund

Mark Bebbington, head coach at New Era Boxing Club, is set to run 5km in every English county as he raises money for the Aaron Dixon Memorial Fund.

Set up by Deborah Dixon following her son’s sudden death, aged just 23, in 2011, the fund provides potentially life-saving heart screenings for young people in Cheshire.

Deborah said: “Mark has been a huge supporter of my charity since I lost my only son Aaron to an undiagnosed heart defect.

“I am always overwhelmed when people offer to raise money for Aaron’s Memorial Fund, so when Mark offered to raise money again for me I was absolutely delighted.”

Aaron Dixon's mother, Deborah set up the Memorial Fund following his death in 2011 (Image: Supplied)

The Aaron Dixon Memorial Fund runs in partnership with a national charity, Cardiac Risk in the Young, to provide screenings for young people aged 14 to 35.

Deborah has 26 screening days booked in this year and a further 12 booked for 2025, supporting 3,800 people in total.

With each day costing £6,800, Deborah is looking at a total cost of £258,400 over the next 18 months.

Mark is hoping to raise £12,000 towards that target when he runs 5km in every English county, starting on August 23.

Mark said: “It’s quite an ambitious target, the most I’ve ever sought to raise.

“One of our members was close friends with Aaron, so he shared with us about the charity and how it works.

“The charity is within the heart of the community and makes such a big potential difference to so many young people’s lives.

“Each screening costs less than £70. That’s unbelievable, it’s so cheap to potentially save someone’s life.”

Aaron Dixon (Image: Supplied)

In 2022, Mark raised more than £7,500 when he broke a Guinness World Record for the most consecutive boxing pad coaching rounds.

The 42-year-old held the pads for 500 three-minute rounds, taking just a minute break between each round.

Despite that challenge lasting nearly 35 hours, Mark feels his next venture could be even tougher.

“I believe it’s the first time it’s been done,” Mark said.

“The scale of the challenge is actually more than I thought.

“One of the people helping me out has worked out that there’s 1,800 miles of driving to do so it’s not just a challenge for me but for the support team as well.

“The running distance in total 240km. We are looking at potentially four days to complete the whole challenge, it's huge really

“So a little bit of nerves, there are so many unknowns.”

To find out more, visit www.facebook.com/events/1820521918386214.