Muppets' marathon madness!

Gareth Taylor, 33, and his friends Kieran Maher, Andre Lennon-Smith and Jason Henry ran a gruelling 69 miles across hills and valleys to raise money for Cerebral Palsy Sport, the National Autistic Society, and Love 4 Leah on June 18.

Project manager Gareth, of Delaney Drive, Freckleton, said: “It was a great success. We were just a bit sore afterwards! There were a few little niggles but nothing to cry home about.

“It took us just short of 17 hours which wasn’t as quick as I might have liked. I got an injury at around 35 miles.

“My knee just started swelling up from the impact of the road and it was just getting over that hurdle from there. We we’re expecting it to be easy though. I definitely wasn’t expecting it to be pain-free.

“We had two separate fund-raisers. We raised £3,800 on one of them and £4,000 on the other, so we have done all right.

“We weren’t expecting to raise that much. Our threshold was £5,000, so we have well exceeded that.”

The money will be split equally between the three charities.

Gareth said: “Hopefully it will make a big difference, especially for Love 4 Leah, which is a little charity to give holidays to children with cancer.”

The fund-raising fanatics were given the nickname ‘the muppets’ by their friends thanks to their extreme charity schemes, which include running six marathons in five days in the Marathon Des Sables in 2014, and scaling the peaks of Ben Nevis in the Man VS Summit challenge later this year.

Gareth said: “I’m planning on climbing Mount Everest next year. The amount we raised this time will be tough to beat but I think we will at least match it.

“We’ve set ourselves a threshold now.

“It has spurred us on for the next one.

“I don’t feel like slowing down any time soon. You’ve got to take the bull by the horns while you’re still young and fit enough to do it. I want to leave a legacy behind me.

“I’m planning on doing the Amazon Jungle Run in Peru, which is a 170-mile run through the Amazon!”