Meet Craig, 56, one of Daisy Chain’s very first service users and a dedicated runner. This year will be Craig’s 35th Great North Run, around 20 of which he has run for Daisy Chain.
Hi Craig, can you tell us a bit about how you heard of Daisy Chain?
Because it’s such a small world, I was working at a pizza shop with the late Lesley Hanson’s daughter, Leah. And it just so happened that with me having ASD – Autism Spectrum Disorder – back then it was known as Asperger’s Syndrome. I’d just done one of my Great North Runs, and Leah asked did I want to do something for her mum’s charity.
All these things were going through my head; Hannibal marching elephants across the alps, my walks to Northallerton, my love of dogs and I put them all together and thought “Oh I’ll march a load of dogs from Yarm to Northallerton”.
Was that how you trained for the run?
Yes!
What is it about Daisy Chain that you love?
I wish Daisy Chain existed in my childhood. We went to a place called the Edmund Harvey centre, but it didn’t specialise in autism. They didn’t know much about autism then.
So somewhere like Daisy Chain would have been great for me. I’m so glad Daisy Chain is getting a lot of runners and people doing the junior one, there was a time when it was just me doing it! I love going to the tent in the charity village after the run too.
What is it about running that you enjoy?
Well I don’t have a driving licence but I love travelling so I love going on long walks. I’m just glad I can run, even though I also have slow co-ordination. I also like Newcastle, I go to a lot for concerts.
I’m hoping to reach 50 Great North Runs, it’s the 35th one this year. I started off doing them back in 1990 for Finchale Training College in Durham, did it for my support group community campus and then started doing it for Daisy Chain, this year must be at least my 20th one for Daisy Chain.
Can you tell us a bit about you?
One thing I always lacked throughout my childhood was self-confidence. Literally, I didn’t have the confidence to go on footpaths because I was actually frightened of curbs, believe it or not. What boosted my confidence big style, which made me employable and helped me learn to stand up and be counted – which was really crazy, and you can say is my claim to fame – I auditioned for Big Brother. And I got very far! I got down to the last 50.
Frankie Cain, partnerships manager at Daisy Chain says of Craig: “Craig is such a valued member of our Daisy Chain family. Over the years, he has gone above and beyond to support us, from taking part in over 20 Great North Runs to jumping in and rowing a boat for our Viking Boat Race!
“His enthusiasm and willingness to get involved never fail to motivate everyone around him. Craig not only supports the charity, he is truly part of the community.
“I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know Craig during my time here, and what started as seeing him at our events has grown into a valued friendship. We’re incredibly lucky to have him in our corner, and it means so much to everyone at Daisy Chain.”
If you see Craig at the Great North Run, or bump into him at one of our other events don’t forget to tell him your date of birth – he can tell you which song was number one when you were born!