Victoria Park man: ‘Why I’m running 1,000km with a portable speaker strapped to my back’

Ed Wethered will stop off at the HQ of 12 small children’s charities along the way to raise awareness of “the amazing work they do”.

He’s starting the 1,000km-route in Victoria Park on August 30, and will return for a big party at the People’s Park Tavern on September 24.

After a number of stops to visit several charities in London, his route will head down to Newquay where The Wave Project and StoryBook Dads are based, then up to Bristol and past CHIVA, and onto Birmingham and Sport 4 Life, before heading back down to London.

He will run the equivalent of 27 marathons in one day fewer than Izzard, who battled dehydration and sunstroke to run 27 marathons in 27 days across South Africa for Sport Relief.

Ed said: “The point of the run is to raise awareness and money for small charities in the UK that work with children.

“These minnows of the charity sector tend to operate under the national radar in their local communities, doing amazing work with children in a variety of innovative ways – but they struggle to raise enough money because they don’t have big marketing budgets and they have limited resources.

“With the financial effects of 2008 still being felt across the UK, the government continues to cut back on funding for small- and medium-sized charities.”

Ed wants others to join him along the route, which has been broken up into manageable sections.

The run has been planned to include some picturesque trails, from the historic Clarendon Way to the undulating Cornish Coastal Path, the banks of the Severn and the Grand Union Canal towpath.

Ed will be carrying the speaker and will take music requests so runners can “listen to some quality tunes whilst running in some of the most beautiful parts of the English countryside”.

The London Beer Factory will provide participants with free craft beer at the end of the day.

To support Ed and to find out how to join in visit his fundraising page.