WO2 Simon Hannaford a bomb disposal solider based at Bicester is planning to raise £100,000 for 2 charities by running, cycling, and swimming 1754 miles in just 26 days.
Si a serving Royal Engineer is undertaking the mammoth challenge to swim 21 miles in open water – the length of the English Channel – then cycle 1000 miles from Land’s End to John O’Groats and finally runn 733 miles from John O’Groats back to Bicester. Starting on the 1st June he plans to complete it all within 26 days, arriving back to Bicester for Armed Forces Day.
One section of his run will see him aim to break the world record for the fastest mile in full bomb suit weighing 35.8kg.
The challenge he has set himself means he will have to cycle 100 miles a day and run 54 miles a day to stay on target.
Two charities are set to share what he hopes will be a £100,000 fund raising pot. These are Felix Fund – the bomb disposal charity which supports serving personnel and veterans from across all three services and SO15 (Met Police) by providing financial assistance and welfare support to those who have conducted or assisted with bomb disposal & search duties and the Hummingbird Centre, a cancer support center based in Launton, near Bicester.
Si said:
“It will be tough emotionally and physically, but it’s not impossible and I’m determined to complete this challenge. I would not say I’m super fit – I would say I’m above average, but I believe it’s all in the mind – I’ve got strong willpower and I’m quite stubborn.
“I feel in a small way this challenge relates to the charities I am supporting. In my mind people who are being supported by these charities are facing much bigger challenges and these will at times seem impossible to deal with.”
Last year Si ran 26 marathons in 26 days on a treadmill and raised £4,000 for the NHS and Felix Fund, which supported him after tours of Afghanistan, Bosnia, Kosovo, and Northern Ireland.
Si needs subscribers for his You Tube channel to enable him to live stream the challenge https://www.youtube.com/c/SiHannaford and donations can be made to Felix Fund at https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/simonhannaford and the Hummingbird Centre at https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/SiHannaford/1
Si has gained sponsorship for this event from King Camp, the Aardvark Group, NP Aerospace and Pearson Engineering all of which has enabled this to go ahead.
Melanie Moughton, CEO Felix Fund said:
‘Last year when Si ran 26 miles in 26 days for Felix Fund, I thought that was a pretty amazing challenge, but this year he has really raised the bar. Undertaking what is in effect an ultra-triathlon back-to-back in 26 days deserves all the support we can give him.’’
