Man set for London-Somerset run in friend's memory

A man is aiming to run from London to Somerset to raise money for his friend who died after falling through a roof.

Aaron Close has challenged himself to run the 150 miles (241km) from Westminster to Keynsham in three days starting on 12 March - in memory of his childhood friend Luke Allen and to raise money for the Great Western Air Ambulance (GWAA).

Mr Allen died in 2018 in a roofing accident in Bristol, and GWAA were the first to be at the scene.

"It was a shock, it was sad, but it brought a lot of us together," Mr Close said.

"I was really close with him growing up. We were fairly inseparable for a really long time," Mr Close, now 27, added.

He said he had set himself the running challenge in honour of Mr Allen's 30th birthday, which would have been in May this year.

"The most I've done in one hit is 50 miles (80km), so it's not something I've come close to before."

He added: "The training, the stress on your body, it takes a lot out of you but you just have to prepare yourself as much as you can."

So far, Mr Close and two of his friends have raised £31,000.

He said someone would drive a van alongside the runners, to offer refreshments and support.

Holly Sheehen, Mr Allen's sister, added that her brother was "amazing".

"He was a happy, go-lucky person, he got on with most people," she added.

"I think Luke would think Aaron is mad. But I think he would be happy about the amount of people who have come together for him to remember him."

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