Southampton dad to complete 25 consecutive ultra-duathlons to help children fighting cancer

A DEDICATED dad is going the extra mile – or 3,000 – to help children with cancer.

Hedge End dad Andy McGhee is undertaking a huge charity challenge with hopes to raise tens of thousands of pounds for charity.

Andy, who is a GB Age-Group athlete, will do 25 consecutive ultra-duathlons across 25 days, meaning he will undertake a 15-mile run, a 112-mile cycle and another 15-mile run, every day for 25 days straight.

During the challenge – Le Tour Du Ultra 25 – he will cover a total of 3573 miles across the 25 days and once completed, the challenge will break a Guinness world record for the most ultra-duathlons completed consecutively.

Andy will set off on September 7 and will cover the same route going from Hamble, through Marchwood and the New Forest and back again.

Andy’s training is well underway, and he has now taken his 12 hours of training up to 20 hours every week, completing lengthy runs and cycles around Hedge End, Hamble and the New Forest to prepare for his challenge.

He is hoping to raise a minimum of £20,000 for the charity Children with Cancer UK to help the charity continue its work determining what causes children to get cancer and developing treatments.

It is not the dad-of-four’s first impressive challenge – in 2015 he ran seven back-to-back barefoot marathons to raise money for Southampton’s High Dependency Unit, who helped save his son’s life when he was two years old.

He has undertaken several other incredible stints since and has raised around £30,000 over the years.

Andy, who served in the British Army for 14 years said: ‘Having four children myself, I can’t imagine what it must be like hearing the words that tell you your child has cancer. Children with Cancer UK do an incredible job helping kids and their families through what is probably the worst time of their lives, while fighting to prevent cancer from affecting more children. That’s why I feel it’s such a worthy cause and that is what will be repeating in my mind as I undergo such a huge challenge.

‘Serving in the army teaches you resilience, not only physically but also mentally, but I am nervous for this challenge as it’ll be my biggest yet. I’m confident that I can make it to the finish line on October 1 and raise money that will make a huge difference in people’s lives.’

Andy will be moving for up to 12 hours every day and will need to consume around 12,500 calories just to have sufficient energy, which he will get through eating peanut butter and jam sandwiches every half an hour, on top of the many large meals before and after each day’s ultra-duathlon and several energy bars and snacks.

The challenge is being sponsored by several businesses, including Southampton-based marketing agency Mitchell and Stones, Global E-Commerce Experts, Chrome Telecom, Arlington Packaging and Rental and Refine.

To donate to Le Tour Du, go to www.letourdu.co.uk