A CHARITY raising £5million to build a new hospital is looking for 100 runners for this year’s Destination Basingstoke Phillips Half-Marathon.

Mark Jones, who joined Ark Cancer Centre Charity in February as director of fundraising and communications at the Ark Cancer Centre Charity, wants as many runners as possible to pull on their running shoes and pull in the pounds for the charity.

The team has been named Ark100 because Mark is hoping that each of the participants on the charity’s team will raise £100 – and he is also hoping that the team itself will number 100 entrants.

“I know that getting 100 people to sign up for the half-marathon is an ambitious goal but I really hope that local runners will get behind the charity and the cancer treatment centre project, which is going to save lives and change so many lives for the better,” said Mark.

He added: “There has never been a team of 100 runners for one good cause in the half-marathon before, so I am hoping that our Ark100 team can set a new record as well as raising vital funds.”

The charity is seeking to raise £5million towards a state-of-the-art cancer treatment centre that will serve people in the Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust area, including Basingstoke and Deane, Hook, Odiham, Hartley Wintney, Andover and Winchester.

The preferred location of the NHS centre is on land off the A30 close to junction 7 of the M3, near Basingstoke.

If the plans are approved, the building work will start towards the end of next year and the centre – which has involved key input from patients and user groups – will open by early 2019

Anyone who wants to join the Ark100 team for the Sunday, October 4 half-marathon should contact Mark on mark.jones@arkcancercharity.org.uk or call 01256 360419, to speak to him or his colleague Jane Barnes.