A DETERMINED dad has completed a gruelling running challenge for a charity close to his heart.

Ian Hemstock decided to take part in a 48-hour sports challenge, whereby he had to run four miles every four hours for 48 hours.

The 39-year-old, from Basingstoke, raised an incredible £1,900 for Sebastian’s Action Trust – a children's charity he and his wife Sara have supported for many years.

The father-of-two said he wanted to raise vital funds for the charity, which runs respite home The Bluebells in North Waltham, offering accessible breaks to families of seriously-ill children.

Ian had heard about the financial difficulties faced by Sebastian’s Action Trust during the last year, with many of its fundraising events cancelled because of Covid.

He decided to do something to help and took part in the running challenge earlier this month.

“Lockdown hasn’t been kind to my waistline,” explained Ian, adding: “With the challenges of home-schooling and lockdown I felt I needed some motivation before the schools went back and to get healthy.

“Sara and I are both supporters of Sebastian’s Action Trust, Sara has volunteered for them before and I’ve fundraised. We’ve been raising money for them for a long time.

"Like all charities, their revenue has dried up in the last year and they were struggling, so I thought it would be a good opportunity to give myself a health kick and raise money for the charity and raise their profile through my social media circle.”

Ian pounded the streets near his home throughout the day and night, having to get up at midnight and then again at 4am.

Despite suffering bad blisters on his feet, the dad was determined to finish and said the donations from family and friends kept him motivated.

“I was blown away by the amount I raised,” he said. “To raise that much was incredible and I’m so thankful for the support. I had blisters on my toes and heels, but it was the lack of sleep that was as much of a challenge as the running.

“It was eery running in the middle of the night. Particularly at midnight when you would normally expect to see people a bit worse for wear coming home. But I saw more people at 4am than midnight.”

Ian started the challenge at 4pm on Friday, March 5 and finished 48 hours later on Sunday, March 7.

To donate click here.