TWO friends who will be running the London Marathon before making the journey back to Overton on foot have held a race night to raise funds for charity.
Nick Reedman, 35, and Gregor Restell, 41, have a healthy obsession with running, enjoying 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.
On Sunday, April 21, 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 home.
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They will run 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.
The duo 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.
On Friday, March 8, residents in Overton helped to arrange a race night at The Greyhound pub, where attendees mimicked famous characters from the London Marathon over the years, playing a spinning wheel to move forward around the 'circuit' before winning the race.
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The event raised more than £900 to take Nick and Gregor's fundraising to nearly £3,000. The duo are hoping to raise £4,000.
Nick said: "The event was a huge success and we raised over £900.
"The efforts from the Overton community have been incredible, with the whole event being organised by our supporters, who have been amazing from the start in arranging all sorts of different fundraising ideas.
"This has allowed Gregor and I to be able to focus on our training which is going really well. We feel we are ready to go now if we could."
More information, including how to donate, can be found on Nick and Gregor's fundraising page 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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