Newport man runs 100 miles for charity

Will Hewitt, 36, went through the pain barrier to complete the first Cotswold Way Challenge 100-Mile Run, having already completed the London Marathon three times and a variety of half-marathons.

Mr Hewitt, a director of sales and marketing for the Bristol Marriott City Centre and Bristol Marriott Royal Hotels, wanted to try something different after successfully taking part in marathons and other road races.

Run over four days the trail goes from Chipping Campden in the north to the city of Bath in the south and participants can either run, jog, walk or stagger along the trail, until they reach runners' campsites complete with sports massage and ice baths.

It is not timed and there are no prizes for coming first, but Mr Hewitt battled on to cross the finishing line and in doing so, raised £600 for the Wallace and Gromit Grand Appeal at Bristol Children's Hospital.

The runner completed the challenge to raise money for the Grand Appeal, the 2013 chosen charity for the two Bristol Marriott hotels, which also have their own Gromit sculptures on display as part of the Gromit Unleashed trail in aid of the appeal.

The charity supports the Bristol Royal Hospital for Children, just one of just seven children's hospitals in the UK equipped and able to offer specialist treatment and lifesaving care to over 100,000 sick and critically ill babies and children every year.

Mr Hewitt said: “It wasn’t a race.

“It was more about completion and camaraderie, with about 65 people taking part.

“But I used different muscles to those when road running and my feet suffered so much that afterwards I had to go to A&E to get them patched up.

“I felt bad about going to hospital but then I was told it was the worse case of blisters they had seen.

“They even took photographs of my feet.

“I couldn't wear shoes for a week afterwards but I’m fully recovered now and have even done a bit of jogging.”