Stafford residents Olly Waters – who served in the REME – and former Para Conor McAdams are joining forces to take part in next April’s Manchester Marathon before running all the way to the capital for the London event, in aid of serving and ex-military personnel in need.
The test will see them averaging 43 miles every day before – all being well – they end the week-long endeavour along The Mall.
The pair – who served as PTIs during eight-year army careers – are hoping to raise £5,000 for Ssafa, going towards projects for the armed forces family.
And with neither team member ever having run a marathon before, the duo – who are posting updates on the feat on their Endurance Amateurs Instagram account – admit their challenge will be a baptism of fire.
But Waters (pictured right) said he was spurred on after seeing the charity’s work. The 32-year-old dad-of-two, who trains six times a week, added: “It is personal and I want my daughters to see, with the right mindset, you can achieve anything.”
McAdams, 33, shared the sentiment. The former P Company instructor said: “We were chatting about how cool it would be to do the London and Manchester Marathons, then Olly said ‘why don’t we just run between them?’
“It was a half-joke but we realised that it could work,” he added. “And here we are.” Follow the duo via @enduranceamateurs on Instagram and give your support.
