A team of Royal Navy runners have set themselves a marathon challenge of racing their ship back from Liverpool to their home port of Plymouth.
Devonport-based HMS Albion is heading back to Devonport after completing Exercise Joint Warrior.
In total the four-man team are looking to complete the task of running the 280-mile route in six days, equating to an average of 50 miles per day. Running in teams of two, they estimated they will need to keep up a speed of about five miles an hour.
The sailors, all members of the Marine Engineering Department from HMS Albion, are raising money and awareness for the charity Claire House Children’s Hospice in Liverpool.
Team leader for the challenge is Petty Officer Ky Blankley. He said:
“Our main motivation is to raise money and awareness for this fantastic charity. We are hoping to raise £2800, which works out at about £10 per mile, currently we sit around the £1900 mark, so the four of us are really focused on reaching our goal.
“We’re setting off when the ship docks in Liverpool and on our first day we’re visiting Claire House Hospice in Cheshire, roughly 15 miles away from our start point. This will help raise the profile of the charity and motivate us to why we are doing this monster run.”
Along with fellow HMS Albion Marine Engineer runners, Lieutenant Tom Brophy, Petty Officer ‘Taff’ Curnock and Leading Hand Dean ‘Ginge’ McNaught, the team have set themselves a gruelling daily schedule of 10 hours on the road. With two runners leapfrogging the other pair in relay to checkpoints, drumming up donations and delivering food and fluids to the runners.
“We’ll be expending massive amounts of energy, so anytime not running will be taken up with replacing calories or sleeping.”
Claire House, is a charity that helps seriously and terminally ill children live life to the full, by creating wonderful experiences and brings back a sense of normality to family life.
They provide specialist nursing care and emotional support to help families, not only supporting the children but also the parents during the toughest of times.
