AN EPIC challenge and attempt to set a new British record will be taken on by three Weston men and one woman, as they face seven marathons in just seven days.
The runners are supporting seven UK charities in a herculean test of fitness and endurance.
Jason Smith, of Juniper Place, came up with the idea after his previous adventures climbing Mont Blanc and Kilimanjaro.
He will be joined by Darren Abbotts, Rachel Smith and Gareth Starr and the team will be raising cash for Weston RNLI, the Children’s Hospice South West, The Alzheimer’s Society, The Lullaby Trust, The Motor Neurone Disease Association, The MPS Society and Weston Hospicecare.
Jason, aged 43, said: “Weston Hospicecare has always had a place with me. A young cousin of mine has recently been diagnosed with cancer and my next-door neighbours Phil and Yvonne Pearson have a lad called Archie who has a mucopolysaccharide disease, and has weekly dialysis to help his condition, this is why I wanted to make marathon number six the MPS one.
“Also, fellow runner Gareth Starr lost his dad last year and he had close association with the RNLI. Each day we will focus on the goals and push through the pain for our own personal reasons and for each charity.
“It’s nice there are local charities included, and some which are less well known than others. There are very few people who have attempted this and I wanted to do this because it is a big challenge.”
The team began training in August and still face two months of daily workouts to make sure they are fit enough to attempt such a feat.
Jason added: “It’s such a hard thing to run for seven marathons for seven days, that’s what made it appealing to me. This is probably the hardest thing I will ever do.
“We are eating 6,000 calories per day to make sure we stay strong enough. We’ve got a great team, it’s really strong and each person has a different goal.”
The runners will begin their first marathon on May 26, from Weston to Bristol, for the RNLI. They will then run from Bristol to Bath for the children’s hospice and then to Glastonbury for The Motor Neurone Disease Association.
The run will then go from Glastonbury to Taunton in aid of The Alzheimer’s Society and from Taunton back to Weston for The Lullaby Trust.
On May 31 the team will then run to Wells, from Weston, to raise cash for The MPS Society and will finish the challenge in Uphill, for the hospice.
To make a donation or to find out more about the seven marathons in seven days challenge visit www. jasonsmith.me.uk and you can see each route, find out more about the runners and find out how much they have raised.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here