Ollie Burridge and Caspar Hambling are taking part in the Cheltenham parkrun at Pittville Park on Saturday 11^th May.

But once they’ve completed the 5K course the 15-year-olds won’t be going back home to Leckhampton, they’re going to keep on running and running - another 45 kilometres to be exact.

And the run is for a very good cause because they are raising money for the Bone Cancer Research Trust in memory of their friend Ellison Dawes.

Ellison died in February 2021 at the age of just 11 and Ollie and Caspar’s 50K run will take in places that were significant to all three when they were pupils at Naunton Park Primary School together. 

After the parkrun they’ll head to Gloucestershire Royal Hospital,  Cranham Scout Hut, Leckhampton Hill, Pilley Bridge and the Lido before finishing at Naunton Park.

They are expected to arrive at Naunton Park between 2.30 and 3pm – the parkrun starts at 9am – and they will be greeted by family and friends, including members of Ellison’s family.

Jemma, Ollie’s mum, said; “We’ll all be there at the end, we’re hoping to make it a bit of a community event.

“There’s a tree for Ellison in the rose garden next to Naunton Park and a bench in his name has just been put in on the other side of the hedge.

“Ellison was diagnosed in April 2020 which was during Covid. The boys couldn’t see him or support him like they’d have wanted.

“When he passed away it was Covid again and the funeral was held online, it was difficult for the boys and their friends to process. This run is their way of celebrating Ellison’s life.”

Ellison would have been 15 on 15^th May  and this is the first fundraising that Ollie and Caspar have done in his memory.

Ollie, who has been a distributor for The Local Answer for the past two-and-a-half years, and Caspar, who are both now at Bournside School, have always marked his birthday, but certainly never like they plan to on Saturday!

And while running 50K is certainly not for the faint-hearted, Jemma has no doubt that they’ll go the distance even though their training was disrupted earlier in the year.

“Ollie broke his collarbone in January, but he’s fine now,” she said. “They’ve both done a lot of training, they’ll make it.

“We’re massively proud of them, they’ve gone out training and slogged up to 23 miles on dark midweek nights. They just want to do something for their friend.”

Anyone who would like to make a donation to their cause should visit Ellison’s Fund page at JustGiving https://www.justgiving.com/page/casollieandfriendsrunfundraiser