A FROME man has completed a gruelling 26.2miles on a treadmill as part of his fundraising effort for Time is Precious.
Jamie Jones covered the marathon distance on a treadmill at Frome Sainsbury’s to raise awareness of the charity and boost his fundraising.
The treadmill run also doubled up as an opportunity to achieve his aim of running a marathon in 2015 and to log vital training miles ahead of the Bath Half Marathon on Sunday 1st March where he will be running.
Jamie, who served in the army for 22 years, chose Time is Precious as he went to school with Nicky Halford, the joint founder of the charity.
He said, “The day started early as we had to collect the treadmill from TrainStation Gym, who kindly donated it for the day, before heading to Sainsbury’s.
“The plan was to run the 26 miles under 6 hours. I wanted to complete 12km every 90mins and then the last 6km would be run dependent on how I was feeling.
“It went perfectly until around the two hours mark when I began to feel some pressure on my knees which got more intense as I progressed. The time passed very quickly and I had a huge amount of support from my family and friends, especially from Neil and Nicky Halford and my wife Wendy who remained in the entrance way throughout.
“I never realised just how generous the folk of Frome were as they donated in great amounts from start to finish, often with some words of encouragement to keep me going.
“I finished the marathon in five hours and 31 minutes and raised £540, which was way above my expectations.
“Would I do it again? Absolutely! I am truly inspired by Nicky and Neil who have created a worthwhile charity that makes a huge difference to children’s lives, and I am happy I did it in memory of Ben Halford – a very brave little man.”
Jamie will now prepare for the Bath Half Marathon. Anyone wishing to sponsor him can still do so by visiting his Just Giving page www.justgiving.com/Jamie-Jones10 or text TTIP75 £1 to 70070.
