Banbury workmates inspired by London Marathon hero will take on their own challenge for Freddie's charity

Claire Clarke and Jurgita Moyses, close friends and workmates at Banbury laundry product manufacturer Jensen, were inspired to run further than they ever have before after speaking with Tom Durnin, aka Mav.

Just like Mav in this year’s event, the duo will use the race as an opportunity to not only get themselves fit but also to fundraise for Freddie’s Future and the Bone Cancer Research Trust (BCRT).

Freddie’s Future is a fund to support the treatment of Bodicote boy Freddie Croft, who has Ewing Sarcoma, as well as research the particularly rare and aggressive form of bone cancer.

Claire said: "I was speaking to Mav before and after he took part in the marathon. When I was congratulating him afterwards for his great efforts and amazing amount of money raised, he said that I should also do it, and so here I am!"

The pair quickly got registered with the Freddie’s Future and bone cancer charities and are now in the process of organising cake and car boot sales to cover the costs of taking part in the race.

Claire added: "I work really closely with Jurgita, so we decided to raise all the money for the charity by running the race together. We are both really excited!

"Last weekend we went to a car boot sale to raise money for the charity, and we got to meet Freddie and his mother, Nicole, which was great."

Neither of the two has ever attempted to take on such a physical task as running a marathon, and for Claire, who has had back surgery, crossing the finish line will be a huge personal goal.

Claire said: "It's a really big personal gain for me to be brave and strong enough to take this on; it's definitely not a feat that either of us is going into naively; we know it's a huge thing, and we hope to surprise a few people by completing it.

To donate to Claire's or Jurgita’s fundraiser, visit their JustGiving pages here:https://www.justgiving.com/team/Claire-Jurgita-2024?utm_source=sms