The Revd Ben Norton, assistant curate at St Cuthbert’s, Marton in Cleveland, completed the challenging 26.2 mile route of this year’s Virgin London marathon raising £2,300 for The Children’s Society.
Ben’s fundraising efforts included running on a treadmill in Middlesbrough town centre in his full robes and asking supporters to make sponsorship pledges in exchange of adding a song to his marathon playlist. This included the likes of ‘Do they know it’s Christmas’ and ‘I could walk 500 miles'.
Money raised by Ben will go towards the charity’s work with disadvantaged children living in poverty or at risk of being harmed.
Ben crossed the finish line in four hours 50 minutes. He said of his achievement, "Running this year’s marathon is a huge personal achievement and it helped to think about the cause I was running for on the route.
“Some parts were tough but knowing that I was helping such a worthy charity and the children who need help across the country pulled me through the hard miles.”