Four sailors from amphibious flagship HMS Albion hope to beat their ship back to Plymouth when it visits Liverpool – running the 280 miles from Merseyside to Devon.
The assault ship is paying a short visit to the Mersey after completing Exercise Joint Warrior off Scotland, before continuing back to base… minus four of her marine engineering department.
Petty Officer Ky Blankley, Lieutenant Tom Brophy, Petty Officer ‘Taff ‘Curnock and Leading Hand Dean ‘Ginge’ McNaught plan to complete the run home in six days.
Running in teams of two, they estimate they will need to keep up a speed of about five miles an hour for ten hours a day.
In doing so, they hope to raise £10 for every mile run for the ship’s favoured good cause, Claire House Children’s Hospice in Cheshire.
“Our main motivation is to raise money and awareness for this fantastic charity,” said Ky, the team’s leader.
“We are hoping to raise £2,800, which works out at about £10 per mile. Currently we sit around the £1,900 mark, so the four of us are really focused on reaching our goal.
“We’re setting off when the ship docks in Liverpool and on our first day we’re visiting Claire House – it’s roughly 15 miles away from our start point. This will help raise the profile of the charity and motivate us to why we are doing this monster run.”
Jogging in pairs, two runners will leapfrog the other pair in relay to checkpoints, drumming up donations and delivering food and fluids to the runners.
“We’ll be expending massive amounts of energy, so anytime not running will be taken up with replacing calories or sleeping.”
You can follow the quartet via Instagram @race_the_ship and on Facebook @racetheship
“Every single like, share and donation will help push the team through the tough days which lie ahead during the race. Awareness and funding the charity will make the world of difference to aid the staff and children they provide amazing care for,” Ky added.
Claire House helps seriously and terminally ill children live life to the full, by creating wonderful experiences and bringing back a sense of normality to family life. They provide specialist nursing care and emotional support to help families, not only supporting the children but also the parents during the toughest of times.
