SIX RAF men will take on the challenge of a lifetime next month when they run seven marathons in less than two days.

The team of survival equipment fitters based at Brize Norton are taking on the River Thames Relay along the path of the river from its source in Kemble to the Thames Barrier in London on June 27.

They plan on covering the 182-mile distance in less than 30 hours by taking it in turns to cover six miles at a time, which means each doing five sets of six miles with only a few hours rest in between.

They even plan on running through the night.

Stuart Goodhall, 30, of Harding Street, Swindon, is one of the team who are taking on the challenge.

He said: “I just thought it was a good way to raise money for charity and give something back to the air force and to the community.

“The RAF has given us so much and its charity helps so many people and we just wanted to give something back.”

The group hope to raise £5,000 for three different charities, including the Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund, the leading charity to support RAF members and their families with practical, financial and emotional support.

They are also raising money for aviation charity fly2help, which aims to inspire positive change through flying, and children’s charity Keen, which provides social, sporting and recreational activities for youngsters with special needs.

Stuart said: “The charities we are fundraising for do a lot of great work and the money we raise will make a big difference to the individuals and the families they support.

“The RAF Benevolent Fund is obviously something that’s quite close to our hearts and since we work in Brize Norton in Oxfordshire we wanted to help the Oxfordshire- based charity, Keen.

“We’ve been doing a few collections at Didcot Park and at the Morrisons in Swindon and we’ve also been doing it at Reading station as well.”

With only four weeks left, the team are pushing themselves through training and the big day is finally in sight.

Stuart said: “We’re doing a lot of running. Over the past few weeks we’ve been gradually increasing the distances from 5km to 8km until we reach 10km.

“And then it’s just practicing to make sure we can do several each during the challenge. Everyone is really up for it. It’s only four weeks to go on Friday so it’s almost in sight.”

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