{"id":64344,"date":"2026-08-30T14:00:20","date_gmt":"2026-08-30T13:00:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/?p=64344"},"modified":"2026-08-26T19:51:39","modified_gmt":"2026-08-26T18:51:39","slug":"metro-driver-takes-on-six-epic-endurance-challenges-for-charity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/?p=64344","title":{"rendered":"Metro driver takes on six epic endurance challenges for charity"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Trainee Tyne and Wear Metro driver John Loraine is currently in the middle of six epic endurance challenges as he seeks to raise money for a charity he credits with saving his own life. 37-year-old John is candid about his recovery from mental health issues and is now looking to pay back the charity who helped him recover.<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p>John, from Gosforth, worked for Northumbria Police for 17 years before leaving and starting at Nexus as a driver in June 2026. Just before he left the Police he was referred to a charity called Climbing Out, an outreach service that supports adults following life-changing injuries, illness or trauma.<\/p>\n<p>During his challenges, John will cover a total of 170 miles across the six events. In some of them he will be carrying heavy weight on his back, which he says is representative of the personal battle to overcome trauma.<\/p>\n<p>The challenges (of which two have been completed) will be:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Isle of Arran Expedition \u2013 76 miles expedition carrying own kit<\/li>\n<li>The Great North 10k \u2013 in a 5kg vest<\/li>\n<li>The MacMillan Might Hike \u2013 a 13.1 miler in a 15kg vest<\/li>\n<li>The Great North Run \u2013 in full police uniform (as a special constable he is able to wear the uniform still)<\/li>\n<li>The Para\u2019s 10 Tab \u2013 a ten miler with 16kg military bergen<\/li>\n<li>The Long Mynd Hike \u2013 a 52-mile trek in the hills of Shropshire<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>John said: \u201cThey are a big series of challenges that I am taking on, but I am absolutely determined to finish them all.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think that I can do it. I\u2019m a mix of confident and anxious. I\u2019ve already got through two of them, and my aim is to complete the next four in a 30-day period. It\u2019s going to be intense. I maintain a good level of fitness and I\u2019ve been training hard.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m very open about my own past struggles with my mental health, which I\u2019ve had to overcome. My time in the police had a big impact on me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Climbing Out charity really saved me. I was referred to them through occupational health. They brought me back from the brink. They were absolutely incredible. I wouldn\u2019t be where I am today without them. I want to give something back to them as it\u2019s such an amazing charity. I am hoping to raise \u00a31,000 and maybe more.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>John will be fundraising for three charities: Climbing Out, Samaritans and Macmillan Cancer Support.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Donations can be made towards John\u2019s challenges at <a href=\"https:\/\/givestar.io\/gs\/carrying-the-weight-100-miles-for-mental-health\">https:\/\/givestar.io\/gs\/carrying-the-weight-100-miles-for-mental-health<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Trainee Tyne and Wear Metro driver John Loraine is currently in the middle of six epic endurance challenges as he seeks to raise money for a charity he credits with saving his own life. 37-year-old John is candid about his &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/?p=64344\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[67],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64344"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=64344"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64344\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":64345,"href":"https:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64344\/revisions\/64345"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=64344"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=64344"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=64344"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}