Memorial hike from Scarborough to Sandsend in honour of Whitby athlete John Hunter

The inaugural John Hunter Memorial Hike has been set up in honour of a well-loved Whitby athlete who passed away last year after battling Motor Neurone Disease.

The event is due to take place June 1 and will begin at Scarborough Sealife Centre at 7am, with numerous checkpoints along the way for people to join and depart.

The checkpoints are as follows:

Checkpoint 1: Cloughton Wyke approximately four miles, ETA 8.30am

Friends Harry Schofield and John Hunter.

Checkpoint 2: Ravenscar Tea Rooms approximately nine miles.

Ravenscar Tearooms have offered to open early at 9am and are offering 10% discount to those completing the hike.

Please feel free to meet here early and enjoy a coffee/tea and scone, there will be a 30-minute pit stop there, ETA 10.15am.

Checkpoint 3: Robin Hood’s Bay station car park, approximately 14.5 miles, ETA 12.45pm.

Checkpoint 4: Whitby Whalebones, approximately 21.5 miles - the 2025 charity challenge plan will be revealed at this point and hikers can take a 20 minute break, ETA 3.30pm.

Checkpoint 5: Sandsend car park, approximately 24.5 miles. The final checkpoint, ETA 5.15pm.

Finish: Runswick Lane approximately 30 miles, ETA 7.30pm / whenever people finish.

All donations made will go to the MND Association and people can donate however much they like.

There will be buckets for cash donations on the day and people can visit www.justgiving.com/page/harryschofield-7in7 if they’d like to donate.

John’s friend Harry Schofield, who last year completed seven challenges in seven months to raise money for the Motor Neurone Disease care home at James Cook Hospital and the MND Association, said: “I can't wait to see everyone there, raising awareness for this horrible disease that has taken too many people, John included, too early.

"Let's do him proud and share some memories along the way.”

John Hunter was a renowned runner from a young age.

Born in 1961, John began his working life at Botham’s of Whitby on Skinner Street, before later moving to the former Scarborough Borough Council where he worked as a caretaker at Runswick Bay.

In the late 1980s, John began running competitively for the first time as he joined Whitby's Esk Harriers before making the switch to the newly-formed Loftus Athletic Club where he thrived.