A Beckenham runner is taking on a 184 mile challenge, equivalent to 7 marathons, over one weekend to raise £25,000 for a south-east London children’s charity.

Phil Price, who lives in Sultan Street, will run from the source of the River Thames in Gloucestershire to the Thames Barrier over three days in September to raise funds for the Maypole Project.

The Orpington based charity supports children with complex and life threatening illnesses and their families by offering counselling and activities.

Mr Price, 34, is the Active Challenge Officer for the charity, and has taken on several huge fundraising challenges such as climbing Kilimanjaro but says this will be toughest one yet.

He said: “You can see not only how it impacts the children but also the parents, they don’t have that care or respite.

“A lot of what our service does is giving the child something they might not always get access to, and giving a parent that needs respite time to just go and be normal.”

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Celebrating after completing a training run. Photo: Phil Price

Training for the ultra-marathon has taken its toll on Mr Price, who suffered a stress injury to his foot while running 100k from London to Brighton.

He said: “The main reason for doing it is I see the impact on a daily basis.

“When it gets tough that is when I think about the stuff I see, when it gets difficult I go to that place and know what the impact can be.

“Families are referred to us for a lifeline for a lifetime, they can come back as and when and get support from us. “

Mr Price will complete the challenge between September 16 and 18, breaking the mileage up into 77 miles, 63 miles and 44 miles, and camping overnight along the way.

He is encouraging other people to get involved in the challenge by joining him along the route and getting sponsorship.

The Maypole Charity started in 2003 with just three families but they now support more than 250 families across south-east London.

They say their aim is to "relieve and help preserve the mental and physical well-being of children and young people who have complex medical needs” and support their family members.

To sponsor Mr Price visit his fundraising page and to find out more about the Maypole Project visit their website.