Salisbury sports therapist to run 253-miles for Julia's House
Alex Bance has been supporting the Children's Hospice since 2019
A Salisbury man is taking on a 253-mile run to raise money for a children's hospice.
Alex Bance, is running from London to Wiltshire, via Dorset to support Julia's House, who support children with life-limiting or life-threatening conditions in order to give parents a much-needed break.
Alex has been taking on challenges to support the hospice since 2019 and last year ran for 24 hours deaf and blindfolded.
He'll start today at Great Ormond street hospital, which where Julia Perks - who the charity is named after - worked as a nurse.
Alex's journey will take him through Southampton and onto Dorset, where the first Julia's House hospice was built.
He will then venture north to the Wiltshire Hospice in Devizes.
Asked how he comes up with bigger and bigger challenges, Alex told Greatest Hits Radio: " I have no idea!"
He told us last year's challenge was the toughest mental challenge he's ever done - and that this year's effort will be a physical challenge.
"The furthest I've ever run is 105 miles, so this is over double what I've ever done before," Alex said.
Alex told us he's not looking forward to sections of road running through Southampton and Bournemouth - simply because he prefers running in the countryside.
He expects the challenge to take around three and a half days - if he doesn't sleep on nights one and two.
Julia's House rely on donations for the majority of their funding support, making the efforts of people like Alex even more valuable.
Alex said: "It always sort of boggles my mind how they can keep their doors open when they're so dependent (on donations).
"They provide respite care and it's the whole family they're supporting. They're not supporting the child, they're supporting the siblings, the parents, they're supporting everyone."
Alex described the cost of the care the hospice provides as 'insane', saying he can't believe that the work they do is not classed as an essential service, saying: "It is absolutely essential to these families who need it."
We can support Alex's efforts on his JustGiving page here.