TWO friends from Overton will be running a marathon before an additional 60-mile journey for children's charity.
Nick Reedman, 35, and Gregor Restell, 41, have a healthy obsession with running. The duo enjoy trail and long-distance running in the beautiful Hampshire countryside, near their homes in Overton.
They have both run marathons and ultra-marathons in the past, with Gregor running for 24 hours and 80 miles, raising over £7,000 for charity in 2021.
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In 2024, Nick and Gregor will take part in the London Marathon, but their running won't stop there as the pair have decided to then run a further 60 miles back
They will run all the way from central London, through Surrey, into Basingstoke and back to base in Overton. This will consist of an extra 60 miles, on top of the 26.2 miles in the London Marathon.
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Nick and Gregor said that the event would be "a monster of a challenge and will take careful planning to arrange routes, aid stations and help along the way".
They will be running for Dreams Come True, a national children's charity, which aims to enrich the lives of children and young people with serious and life-limiting conditions, by making their dreams come true.
Despite the not taking place until 2024, the friends have already begun training, with many races and events arranged along the way.
Nick said: "Me and Gregor had been keen to do the London Marathon, but as we do lots of these sort of runs, Gregor had the idea of taking it one step further and running all the way back to our homes in Overton.
"We thought that it was a crazy enough thing to do, so we're doing it and raising money for a great charity along the way. Obviously, we have people supporting us and helping with the crewing and aid along the way, but it's all really exciting.
"Our training is well underway as the run is coming around pretty quickly, so we're getting in the mileage now. We're really looking forward to it."
Donations can be made to Nick and Gregor's fundraising at justgiving.com/fundraising/london2overton.
More information on the friends and the preparations for their run in 2024 can be found on Facebook here.
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