Runners help pay for Beer for the Boys (From Oxford Mail)

Runners help pay for Beer for the Boys

A TEAM of runners has bought a big round of drinks after donating more than £3,000 to the charity Beer for the Boys.

Members of Bicester Hash Harriers present a cheque to RAF Brize Norton charity Beer for the Boys on the steps of a Tri-Star transport jet

Earlier this year Bicester Hash Harriers completed a 72-mile run along Hadrian’s Wall to raise cash to support two soldiers’ charities.

Both Help For Heroes and Beer for the Boys have each been given a £3,172 cash boost and money is still coming in.

During the challenge the team carried a stretcher – to pay tribute to troops who have been injured in battle. Iain Belton, 59, whose son, Sebastian, 26, is a corporal with the RAF Regiment and is on his third tour in Afghanistan, said: “We’d trained for it and it started quite sedately through Newcastle on a hot sunny day, but later, along the wilder stretches of the wall it was very hard. It took us a few days to recover.

“The people along the way were fantastic. Several went out of their way to ensure they donated. On one occasion someone drove several miles to the next place we crossed a road just to give us money.

“Whatever pains and sores we had it was always in our thoughts that it was a nothing to what our boys and girls put up with in Afghanistan.”

He said the Hash Harrier team related to the Beer For the Boys charity as they completed their weekly run with a pint.

Mr Belton said: “We like a pint after a run and the idea of buying a drink for our troops struck a chord.

“We split the funds with Help for Heroes because, although both do a magnificent job we wanted to consider all the troops, not just the casualties.”

When the group handed over the cheque they were given a tour of Tri-Star aircraft used to transport troops to and from Afghanistan.