TWO men are walking 26.2 miles today (October 2) from Banbury to Oxford to raise money for charity.

Luke Froude is raising money for the Support for Sick Newborns And their Parents (SSNAP) charity which he has done every year for the last decade in memory of his son Finnley Foude.

Mr Froude and his wife Gemma have raised £89,901 in his name after he was born 12 weeks prematurely at 28 weeks in January 2010.

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He is taking part in the walking marathon with his friend Matthew Hewitt who is raising money for the Meningitis Research Foundation.

Mr Hewitt was supposed to be running the London Marathon with his wife Kelly but due to health problems and medical advice the couple had to cancel.

However, they still wanted to raise money in memory of their niece Mia so decided to do a walking marathon instead.

Mrs Hewitt was unable to take part due to the illness so Mr Hewitt is walking with Mr Froude instead.

They set off this morning at about 7am and hope to reach the John Radcliffe Hospital between 4pm and 5pm.

The pair are hoping to raise between £200 and £250 each for their respective charities.

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To donate to Mr Froude’s fundraiser, visit: sponsorme.co.uk/lukefroude/lukes-marathon-walk-for-ssnap

To donate to Mr Hewitt’s fundraiser, visit: justgiving.com/fundraising/kellysmarathonwalk

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Read more from this author

This story was written by Gee Harland. She joined the team in 2022 as a senior multimedia reporter.

Gee covers Wallingford, Wantage and Didcot.

Get in touch with her by emailing: Gee.harland@newsquest.co.uk

Follow her on Twitter @Geeharland

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