IT’S half past three on a cold Friday afternoon, and Pickering Town chairman Jamie Hopwood has just returned from his latest run as he embarks on a year-long fundraising challenge.

He is running a marathon in a month, every month, until the end of 2024 in aid of Candlelighters, a Leeds-based charity that provides support to children and their families after receiving a cancer diagnosis.

The charity, for whom he also fundraises through Brooklyn FC, is close to his heart, having provided support to the family of Guy Metcalfe, who tragically passed away in 2015 aged just four years old.

Jamie, who confesses running has proved his nemesis in the past, has thrown himself into the challenge, and apologises to the Gazette and Herald if he seems a little out of breath.

“I’ve got off to a bit of an ambitious start,” he laughs. “I’ve done 60 miles already in January!”

He has taken his inspiration from Prostate Cancer UK’s ‘Run the Month’ challenge, in which fundraisers commit to running, jogging or walking the length of a marathon throughout January.

“I wanted to do a big challenge to raise a lot of money for all the children,” he explains. “But I think that a full marathon is a little bit beyond me now.

“Running forces you to get out of the house. It’s harder with the weather at the moment, and sometimes you don’t want to get up and run when it’s half five in the morning and pitch black, but it’ll get easier once it gets lighter and I’ve got myself going.

“I’m hoping to spread the 26 miles across the first three weeks of the month, and then use the final week to recover and hopefully inspire others to come along as well.”

He hopes that the monies raised will well exceed the £500 target currently showing on his Just Giving page and is encouraging supporters to donate £1 a mile throughout the fundraiser.

“When it’s dark and it’s blowing a gale, that £1 a mile will prove even more of an incentive, that way the fundraiser is benefitting a child and their family every eight minutes.”

Jamie is tracking his runs via Strava, and hopes to update his Just Giving fundraiser with his progress each month.

You can donate to Jamie's JustGiving fundraiser here.