Two men from Lincolnshire have completed a 26 mile Marathon March for charity.
Andy Swarbrooke and Mickey Jackson have spent six months training for the march. The walk is to raise money for two charities close to their hearts; Andy, 29 and Mickey, who is also 29, are aiming to raise £2000 for St Barnabas Hospice and the Autism Foundation. They hope to reach this target by the end of next month.
Kerry Swarbrooke, Andy’s Sister, says the march is a great way to raise money as it’s something that should come quite naturally to the pair: “It’s something they’ve done throughout their forces career.
“Originally they were going to just do the marathon but then they decided to make it harder for themselves.”
They completed the march in just under 6 hours, which is an hour longer than the average marathon finishing time. But there was a difference – Andy and Mickey ran the whole thing with 35lbs on their back.
Family and friends were also at the event to cheer the men on as they finally finished.
Both said they were tired but say they thoroughly enjoyed themselves.
“We’re tired but also quite humble. It’s nice to know we’re raising money while we’re going round” said Mickey.
“I really enjoyed it though. The second half was hard, we had to really dig deep, our feet were killing us, our back went, shoulders were aching but we still enjoyed it.”
This may not be the last time the duo put their former military background to fundraising use. They plan to do a similar run next year says Mickey: “We’re thinking of doing a shorter one with more weight on our backs.
“We could carry 50lbs or something like that and just do five miles. We don’t know yet, we’re still having talks.”
Donations for the Marathon March can be made on the website