Mountaineers to raise money for hospital – with 2,000 laps of their gardens, in Wimbledon and Herne Hill

Two mountaineers are looking to run marathons in their respective gardens tomorrow – about 2,000 laps of each.

The duo – David Furze from Wimbledon and his brother-in-law Fred from Herne Hill – are trying to raise money together on social media but separately, for the NHS.

The money they raise will go to Epsom and St Helier NHS Trust Charitable Fund, where two members of their family were born.

A year after climbing Mt Kilimanjaro together, this year Freddie and Dave are swapping the mountain for The Garden Route as they aim to each complete a marathon in their back gardens.

St Helier Hospital is right next to the Carshalton Boys Sports College where Freddie used to teach.

The hospital is under immense pressure at the moment, with the number of Covid-19 related deaths rising past 200.

David said: “We hope that the idea of us doing 2,000 laps of our respective gardens will inspire people to donate!

Also, since I was meant to be doing the Brighton Marathon on Sunday, at least all my training won’t be going to waste.

Meanwhile, we have always wanted to dress up for a marathon, so now’s our chance!”