Club photographer Mark Parsons will swap his lens for his running shoes for this year’s #Hinckley2Heather on Saturday.
Traditionally, AFC supporters get on their bikes and cycle the 12 miles to Heather to raise money for two charities.
It’s all ahead of the Simon Blyth Memorial Trophy match at St John’s Park, which Hinckley currently hold after a win in 2019.
Instead, Mark will go one step further and run the near-half marathon route on Saturday 17th July.
Mark is no stranger to a long distance run. He took on the Bosworth Half Marathon in 2019 and is currently preparing for this September’s Great North Run.
So he said it was the perfect chance to combine a good cause with his training. He said: “As an average runner, I just thought it would give me something to do!
“Doing the Great North Run means I can do this as part of my training programme. I also did the virtual London Marathon last year, which basically took in four laps of Hinckley!
“I’ll be leaving at approximately 10am and heading up the canal, arriving at Heather via Shackerstone. It will be around 16 miles in total.”
Not content with just running to Heather, once he arrives there he’ll meet his camera kit to photograph the match as normal. Fortunately our friends at Heather have arranged for him to use a shower before switching from runner to photographer.
That will come in more than handy given the weather – a hot afternoon of 25 degrees is forecast across Leicestershire. That’s something Mark admits isn’t ideal – “it’s a little warmer than I’m used to!” – but his target time of two and a half hours means he’ll be there in plenty of time for kick off.
The run will form part of the Hinckley2Heather fundraising, raising money for two charities in memory of Simon Blyth and Ray Baggott. This year’s charities are Prostate Cancer UK and Mesothelioma UK.
