He is perhaps best known for his 16 seasons as Lincoln City‘s Poacher the Imp. Now Gary Hutchinson is to taking one of his biggest challenges yet.
The 46-year-old, who runs the StaceyWest fan-blog, is running the London Marathon for the Lincoln City Foundation.
He said: “I’m enjoying the training. I used to hate running, and the first few weeks I found it very tough. I’d run 1k and then walk for 10 or so seconds, and now the runs have got longer. And I’ve gotten stronger.”
Tongue in check, he blamed the foundation’s CEO Martin Hickerton who approached him to take part.
Gary added: “I’m trying not to focus on it too much, I’m focusing on the next milestones like the Scunthorpe half-marathon and the 20-mile mark. I think I’ll get quite emotional when I go through the tape, though.”
The Lincoln supporter had fundraised for the foundation in last year’s City of Lincoln 10K, and has taken that a step further for 2025.
He has already raised over £2,500 for his biggest run yet, preparing to race his first marathon after taking on 5Ks and 10K over recent years.
The foundation helps people across Lincolnshire with initiatives ranging from ‘Fighting Fit’ for cancer patients, to English language sessions for non-native speakers.
Alice Carter, the foundation’s head of healthier communities, said: “The event is a fantastic opportunity to raise wider awareness of our charity at one of the world’s largest running events, and we are incredibly proud to have Gary as our first ever charity place runner.
“The funds Gary is raising will go towards supporting the ongoing delivery of our community programmes which seek to improve the physical, mental and social wellbeing of individuals across Lincolnshire.”
The marathon takes place on Sunday, April 27, and Gary is raising money here.