An autism charity worker is taking on an epic fundraising challenge nearly five times longer than his previous half marathon.
Chris Sturm, who works at Prior’s Court in Hermitage, will be running the 100km Race to the Stones challenge on July 13 and 14.
Mr Sturm ran the London Landmarks Half Marathon in aid of Prior’s Court last April.
But this challenge is nearly five times longer than his last effort, consisting of two 50km ultra-marathons along The Ridgeway, ending at the 5,000-year-old Avebury Standing Stones.
And to top it all off, Mr Sturm will be camping overnight between the two runs.
Mr Sturm, who lives in Thatcham, said: “I’ve wanted to run this event for a few years as I love The Ridgeway and liked the idea of the challenge, but wasn’t confident enough.
“I saw I could run it for Prior’s Court and help them raise money, and that gave me the push to do it.”
Mr Sturm is also a regular at Newbury Parkrun, where West Berkshire runners may have seen him running with Prior’s Court pupil Brandon.
Speaking more about his training for the challenge, Mr Sturm continued: “I started running in lockdown, so have been running for four years now.
“I’ve recently changed my training to incorporate more hills and strength training for this specific event.”
Mr Sturm is fundraising for Prior’s Court’s Performing Arts Centre appeal, which is currently being built and will feature adapted facilities to support autistic young people to access the arts.
“After 16 years at Prior’s Court, the young people still make me smile and laugh,” added Mr Sturm.
“As long as they keep doing that, I’ll be here for quite a while yet.”
Mr Sturm’s fundraising target is £1,000.
Visit www.justgiving.com/page/christopher-sturm-1702474369225 to make a donation.
