A team of Somerset paramedics has completed an extraordinary overnight endurance challenge — running the equivalent of two marathons in one night — to raise funds for Love Musgrove’s Beacon Centre Fund.
Mike, Ben, George and another Ben set off on their self‑described “stupid challenge for a very good cause” on May 12th and 13th.
Their route took them to every ambulance station in West Somerset, starting at Minehead before running to Burnham‑On‑Sea, then Bridgwater, then Taunton, and finally finishing at Musgrove Park Hospital’s Beacon Centre.
In total, they covered around 100km, with “very little sleep and a lot of questionable life choices,” says Mike.
As they approached Musgrove Park Hospital on the home stretch, supporters lined Parkfield Drive to cheer them in. The team arrived at the Beacon Centre escorted by ambulances, where colleagues, friends and family greeted them with applause and fanfare.
The group has already raised over £7,000 for the Beacon Centre, which provides cancer treatment and support for patients across Somerset.
Their motivation for the challenge was deeply personal. In August last year, Mike’s mum, Beverley, was diagnosed with breast cancer. Throughout her treatment, the care and compassion shown by staff at the Beacon Centre has been “essential to her recovery.”
“As paramedics, we see firsthand how vital services like this are,” says Mike.
“Sometimes the only way to say ‘thank you’ properly is to suffer a little yourself. So for 24 hours, we pushed our bodies to their limits to give something back to a team that gives so much every single day.”
In a poignant moment, the team’s arrival coincided with Beverley’s final radiotherapy session. Surrounded by family and friends under a balloon arch, she rang the radiotherapy bell — celebrating both the end of her treatment and the completion of the men’s ultramarathon challenge.
