An endurance runner from Wigan is planning to run a total of 75 miles in laps around the DW Stadium to shine a light on male mental health.
Aaron Woodward, from Newtown in Wigan, has impressively already taken on two other long distance running challenges this year – running two marathons in two days and going 53 miles along the canal from Wigan to Leeds – despite never having previously run further than a half marathon, and has so far raised over £2,000 for charity.
His next challenge is set to be his most ambitious yet.
The 28-year-old has announced that he is heading to the DW Stadium, home of Wigan Warriors and Wigan Athletic – which entered into administration in July – for his next fundraiser.
Starting at 5am on Saturday 3rd October, Aaron will run 75 miles around the wall of the stadium.
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This is approximately 200 laps.
Speaking to Wigan Today about his motivations for the fundraiser, Aaron said: “I’ve decided to put my town in the spotlight this time and also show my support to Wigan Athletic during the tough times they’re going through regarding the administration.
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DW Stadium
“But as usual, I am mainly doing it for male mental health,
“I think doing it around DW Stadium, which hosts both Wigan Warriors and Wigan Athletic, where a majority of the fan base are male, is a great way to shine light on male mental health and raise as much awareness as possible.”
Funds raised from this challenge will go towards supporting mental health charity CALM.
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Aaron has chosen to support the charity after trying to take his own life earlier this year – spending six weeks in hospital and being diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder – and also in memory of his sister Tracy, who was just 36 when she died by suicide in 2015.
He is also keen to get the community involved too.
“I am encouraging people from my local area to join me for a few laps, even if it’s just one lap, just to shine a light on what I am doing.”
You can support Aaron and CALM by donating to his JustGiving page here.
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If you are struggling with your mental health, please do not suffer in silence – Find some of the best resources and support available in Manchester here.
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Manchester City announced signing of top Premier League defender Marc Guehi
Danny Jones
It looks like they’ve finally got a done deal: Manchester City have finally announced the transfer of highly sought-after defender Marc Guehi.
Man City reached an agreement with Crystal Palace to sign the increasingly established Three Lions star after emerging as a suitor in recent weeks.
Pep Guardiola’s pursuit of the impressive Premier League centre-back ramped up earlier this month, as it became apparent that they were hoping to hijack Liverpool’s prospective move for Guehi.
The Ivory Coast-born England international looked all set to arrive at Anfield back in the summer, but the deal never materialised, and now rivals City have sealed his signature instead.
Finally confirmed and fully announced on Monday, 19 January, Palace and Man City are said to have reached an agreement in principle for a base fee of approximately £20 million.
However, rumoured add-ons are thought take that total closer to £30m; either way, it’s fair to say that it’s an absolute bargain for a player of his quality.
On the other hand, the acquisition will also see Man City’s total spending reach roughly half a billion pounds over the past year alone. Staggering sums for any sporting outfit.
Not that his former London team will mind one bit, of course, as it became increasingly clear that Guehi would be leaving eventually; manager Oliver Glasner – who also seems set to depart at the end of his contract – even addressed the sale ahead of completion in a recent press conference.
Guehi will wear the number 15 shirt for Man City and has penned a deal until 2031.
With Man City currently facing multiple absences, particularly in their backline with both Josko Gvardiol and Ruben Dias out injured, Guehi’s arrival is no doubt a welcome one.
Although many debated whether or not Pep needed to sign another centre-half, especially with two promising youth players returning from loan, supporters will nevertheless be glad to have snatched him from the clutches of Liverpool.
Over in the women’s team, they’ve also brought in a new member of the squad who could help spur on their title charge.
Can you see any more deals being down befor the end of the window?
New survey reveals half of Mancs have already given up their new year’s resolutions
Emily Sergeant
We’re into our third week of 2026 now, and according to a new survey, half of Mancs have already ditched their new year’s resolutions.
New year’s resolutions are always made with the best intentions, and it’s not like we intentionally set ourselves up to fail with them, but more often than not, that tends to be the case – and now a new survey of 1,000 Brits carried out over the past few weeks has found that 35% of us have already admitted to giving them up.
That percentage rises to a whopping 50% when narrowed down to the people of Greater Manchester.
Belfast, Bristol, Cardiff, and Glasgow are the other four major cities joining Manchester in the top five list of people in each area that have stopped their 2026 challenge early.
Half of Mancs have apparently already given up their new year’s resolutions / Credit: PICRYL | Pexels
On the other end of the spectrum, it’s the cities of Southampton, Newcastle, and Edinburgh that are staying strong, with just 25%, 26% and 26% giving their new year’s resolutions up respectively, and some of the other northern cities on the list including Liverpool and Leeds.
According to new research from greetings card marketplace, Thortful, more than half of Brits (53%) expect to give up within the first three months of the year – with the hustle of busy schedules, work commitments, families, and social activities being given as reasons why.
When it comes to the reasons people provided for why they’ve given their resolutions up this year, lack of discipline tops the list at 43%, followed by just being too busy to consider them at 21%, and different mental or physical barriers in third place, as well as a change of personal circumstances and a lack of money also cited.
The majority of people cited a lack of discipline as being the reason they gave up / Credit: Andrea Piacquadio (via Pexels)
Looking forward to next year, it seems many of us want to reframe how we set our new year’s resolutions in the future.
According to the research, 32% of respondents want to ‘improve their existing qualities rather than set an unrealistic challenge’ next time around, and 16% ‘feel like there’s social pressure to change in the new year’, when in reality, they ‘don’t have to’.
Emily Sergeant -
25th September 2020 
