Mom and son ran 2-week ultra-marathon for charity

By Kate Pounds via SWNS

An 18-year-old and his mom ran an ultramarathon a DAY for two weeks.

Julie Lench, 42, and her eldest son Alfie Lismore-Pope, 18, ran 322 miles in 11 days.

The pair started in Holyhead, north Wales, on July 24 and finished amid cheering crowds at their local Parkrun in Burnham-on-Sea, Somerset, on August 2.

They've raised $3,700 for a local lad, five, hoping to get to America for cancer treatment, and a local mental-health support charity.

Julie, an operations manager said: "This is a massive achievement, but I don't think it's really sunk in that we've done it yet.

"It was extremely hard physically and mentally.

"When we finished I said 'never again' but I know there's another adventure for us.

"I just can't think yet how we'll top this one.

"It's lovely that Alfie and I have a shared joy in running together.

"The training was hard. We just couldn't fit in the hours we needed to.

"I was running at 4:30am to get the miles in. We probably only managed up to 40 miles per week.

"It was always in the back of my mind that we might not make it and both of us wouldn't take that well.

"We're very committed and that's what carried us through."

Julie and Alfie started running four years ago when she raised money for a hospital, and he became a fan of Parkrun.

They decided on this challenge in April, after Julie separated from her husband in January.

The pair ran for between six and 8.5 hours a day.

The final day they started at 1am so they could finish at 11am.

Julie's best moment was when her family surprised her and brought her youngest son to meet her after nine days apart.

She said: "It was an incredible experience to see him. We just ran to each other and hugged so hard."

Alfie's favorite part was seeing all the balloons and banners of their friends and supporters when they finished at Park run.

Julie got Achilles tendinitis in both feet by day five and finished the run with swollen ankles, and the pair both had huge blisters.

Julie and Alfie camped each night and cooked on a little stove. They said having to put up their tent and beds stopped their muscles from seizing up.

An ultra marathon is any distance over 26.2 miles - their shortest run was 27 miles on day eight, and their longest 32 miles on days four and 10.

Julie said: "I get a real buzz from running, but I hate camping - that was definitely my worst part."

Julie found out about a local boy needing to get to America for cancer treatment on a local Facebook group.

The other charity she used after her divorce and said they really helped her.

She said: "Jack has stage 4 nuroblastoma - we don't know him but I have young children and I'd want someone to raise money if they could."