Man takes on 17 marathons in springy eye goggles

The 38-year-old is running under the pseudonym Neville to remain anonymous

A man is aiming to run the equivalent of about 17 marathons in June on the same half mile (0.8 km) "mundane" stretch of road in Waddington, Lincolnshire, to raise money for cancer research.

The 38-year-old, who is running under the pseudonym Neville, said he wanted to remain anonymous as the challenge was not about him.

Each day, he is being joined by someone who has been affected by cancer in some way.

"This isn’t about me fulfilling my own sense of adventure. It’s so that people can join me," he said.

Speaking to the BBC, Neville said: "I literally just want to raise as much money as possible for a good cause in a place where people can tangibly feel the effort, because it's right on their doorstep every day."

The challenge involves running the same number of miles each day commensurate with the calendar date.

He was intending to run one mile on 1 June, two miles on 2 June, increasing to 30 miles on 30 June.

The Lincolnshire-based Red Arrows are supporting the unusual fundraising effort

So far, Neville has been joined by a man who is undergoing treatment for throat cancer and is fed though a tube, a cancer nurse who travelled three hours to take part and a man whose wife was recently given the all clear after receiving treatment.

"The subtle point being that literally anyone could run with me because everyone knows someone affected by cancer," he said.

He said he was the antipode of the type of person who you might expect to take on such a challenge.

"I'm a 5'7" stocky, 38-year-old... not a runner," he said.

Neville will run the final mile of each day with his guest co-runner, while carrying the Cancer Research UK flag, wearing springy eye glasses, and shouting "just one more mile".

He said there were no specific fundraising goals as "you can't put a figure on how much a cure for cancer would be worth".

However, he added: "I love my scruffy hair and I've said that, on the slim chance I raised £30k by day 30, then I'd let my bosses shave my head.

"Cancer doesn't care how much people love their hair; the treatment often robs them of it regardless."

He said people could follow his progress, and meet the people running with him on his Instagram page.

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