Cricketers take on marathon challenge

An amateur cricket club is taking on a marathon challenge in full batting gear to raise money for a children’s hospital charity.

Members of Easton Cuttlefish Cricket Club, in Bristol, will clock up 2,307 runs – the equivalent of 26.2 miles – on Monday.

A total of 40 club members and sports club staff have signed up for the event, which is raising money for The Grand Appeal, the charity for Bristol Children’s Hospital.

Wicket keeper Alex Jeffcut, 34, and his wife Char, 32, came up with the challenge as they aim to raise £2000 in recognition of the care given to their two-year-old daughter Mimi, who is a regular patient at the hospital.

Mimi, the couple’s second child, has what is termed Syndrome Without A Name (Swan), a condition so rare it cannot be diagnosed.

She has spent around half her life at Bristol Children’s Hospital undergoing tests and receiving treatment.

Alex, a software developer from Bedminster, Bristol, said: “I honestly thought no one was going to go for it.

“Running in full cricket kit, with all the pads, a bat and sometimes a helmet, is exhausting at the best of times.

“The maximum anyone would normally run in one go is three runs.

“We’re asking for 58 each so we can reach the 2,307 runs to take it to 26.2 miles.

“When I suggested the idea we were astonished by how many people said they would be up for it because we’re not, to put it mildly, the most athletic cricket club in the world.”

The club’s fundraising page can be found through JustGiving, here.

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