An anti-bullying campaigner who has pledged to run 401 marathons in 401 consecutive days will continue his incredible challenge in Newton Aycliffe this week.
Ben Smith, from Bristol, is aiming to raise £250,000 from his World Record attempt by running 401 marathons at 309 different locations across the UK.
The 33-year-old started the monumental challenge in September and has already completed 176 marathons, covering 4,611 miles.
The runner travels the country with his father in a motor home, moving from town to town, contacting local running clubs to organise routes.
And Aycliffe Running Club arranged a route around the town for Ben to run on Friday (26th February).
Now people are being invited to join Ben on bike along the two half-marathon routes.
“The aim is to raise both awareness of the issues of bullying in our society along with £250,000 for two amazing charities dedicated to tackling bullying,” says Ben on his website.
“The two charities are called Stonewall’ and ‘Kidscape. Both these charities work tirelessly to support award winning initiatives which really get to the heart of bullying in our UK schools and society in all its forms.
“The £250,000 raised through generous donations from UK business’ and the public will help support both these charities carry on the amazing work they do.”
Ben is meeting Aycliffe Running Club at the Oakleaf Sports Complex from 9am on Friday, while the second half will also start from the complex from around 11.45am.
Ben has already raised £36,459 of his £250,000 target – you can donate by clicking here.