10:30am Tuesday 29th January 2008
By Harry Hogger
FOR two Bovington soldiers taking on the London Marathon this year, the 26.2-mile run will only be the first step in their charity mission.
Warrant Officer 2 Chris Smart and Warrant Officer 1 Clive Togwell are not just running the marathon for charity, they have also set up their own charitable organisation, Charity Support, which will continue to raise funds for a number of worthy causes.
The pair have already lined up further events to pursue their fundraising work, including taking part in the Great North Run and organising a Weymouth to London bike ride.
Both men are coming towards their end of service in the army and they have ambitious plans for the charity.
At the moment they are raising funds for Help for Heroes, an organisation set up last year to help wounded servicemen and their families, St Christopher's Hospice in London and the Weymouth and Portland branch of Age Concern.
WO2 Smart says he hopes to see Charity Support working with charities across the county before long.
He said: "We've had great support in the short space of time we've been going. We didn't want it to be a one-off thing, we wanted it to be an ongoing thing.
"By the end of the year we would like to be supporting a small worthy charity in each of the larger towns in Dorset, like Poole, Bournemouth, Dorchester and Bridport.
"Whatever we do throughout the year, they will get a portion of what we raise at the end of the year and we will have dedicated events in each town."
WO2 Smart says he is also in the process of organising a charity football match between Royal Armoured Corps and Weymouth FC and is writing to companies in Weymouth for prizes in a huge charity raffle.
WO2 Smart, a 39-year-old father of two from Weymouth, says it is hard to pin down what exactly motivated him to start this marathon charity drive.
He said; "To be perfectly honest, it's probably like a midlife crisis. I've been in the army for 23 years, I'm due to finish in four months and I've always been told to go running.
"The army does charity stuff all the time, raising a few quid here and there. I have always enjoyed it and I have always wanted to do the marathon."
Both men are hoping their fitness from years of army training will stand them in good stead, and WO2 Smart says their marathon preparation is well on course for their four-and-a-half-hour target time.
For more information on how you can support the soldiers in fundraising campaign, visit www.charity-support.co.uk
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