Gary McKee ran 365 marathons in as many days to raise funds for Macmillan Cancer Support and Hospice at Home West Cumbria.

Gary McKee, 53, from Cleator Moor in Cumbria raised his arms in victory and was cheered by a crowd of supporters as he completed his 365th marathon of the year on New Year’s Eve. As of 4 pm on Saturday, he had raised more than £ 890,000 for the charities Macmillan Cancer Support and Hospice at Home West Cumbria, just shy of (缺少) his £1 million fundraising target. The father of three has gone through 22 pairs of sports shoes and has run 9,563 miles in rain, snow and sunshine to raise money for the charities.

“The support has been amazing and it always is and the West Cumbrians get behind us, but cancer affects everybody so it isn’t just a West Cumbrian thing, it’s a national thing,” said Gary. “I just hope that people do get behind us and we do raise those million pounds.” Gary has not only raised money for two fantastic charities, but he has also sprinkled magic on the local community and brought people together to support him with the challenge.

Chris Young, 29, ran 90 marathons with Mr. McKee. “Gary set a good example to me this year when I began running frequently with him and has given me both physical and mental resilience (适应力) that I don’t know if I would have ever discovered in myself in a million years. I know I don’t just speak for myself on that front as he has inspired not just me or the few, but the entire local community and beyond,” said Chris, “This challenge has raised a great amount of money for two fantastic charities, but the impact Gary has provided to the community and people around him is immeasurable. A lot of people’s lives will be much better off thanks to Gary’s efforts, mine included.”

9 . I fell in love with the Little Free Library concept years ago on vacation. The concept of free literature-sharing boxes posted in neighborhoods and public spaces hooked me. For a booklover, this represented bliss（快乐）. At home, my bedside table sprouts（长出）books and from the floor rises a mountainous to-be-read pile. My husband wasn’t the least bit surprised when I suggested starting our own Little Free Library- As a writer and introvert（内向的人）, I welcomed the idea of saying hello to other booklovers on occasion.

The following winter, my husband built a copy of our Irish garden shed（棚屋）with a framed glass door on the front and, in the spring, mounted（安装）it on a post in front of our house. We filled the shelves with books, and since then, visitors have refilled them with literary fiction, romances, mysteries, science fiction, cowboy westerns, young-adult fiction, poetry, how-to’s, self-help and a range of other nonfiction.

For a time after COVID-19 first struck, public libraries shut down, and Amazon prioritized the delivery of essential and high-demand items. Books were less easily attained. Traffic to our library increased. I posted reminders about handwashing, and still, readers kept coming.

We wondered if we should close the Little Free Library and revisited（再次讨论）our original motivations for hosting it: to facilitate the exchange of books, to create a sense of community. Reading provides the necessary relief to the emotional crush（压力）of life. With this in mind, we added a written reminder on staying safe in the library.

Through my teens, reading transported me to other places and eras. Books taught me about life and how people overcame adversity（逆境）. I no longer felt alone in the things I struggled against.

Aside from the entertainment books offer, studies show that reading exposes us to other cultures and perspectives. Literature sheds light on the justice to be found in social inclusion and community cohesion（凝聚）. Self-esteem and understanding grow in equal measure as we come to understand ourselves and our place in the world.

During this pandemic, the Little Free Library has reinforced the importance of literature and reading to our emotional and mental health. It’s become an alternate means of creating a community of people with mutual regard for humanity and the written word. We are together even when apart.