“The event was fantastic; it was great to see the public of Peterborough coming together and making the event special.”

After running 13 miles, Aidan had to punch a boxing pad 510 times

Two of our amazing coaches, Marcello (Cello) Renda and Aidan Lyons, ran a half marathon to raise funds for Boxing Futures – and then finished with 500 punches.

Cello and Aidan took part in Peterborough’s 13-mile Great Eastern Run in October. Aidan reached his £500 fundraising target quite quickly, and so promised his supporters that for every £1 above £500 that was raised, he would throw punches on pads. With a final figure of £1,010, he had to hit the pad 510 times.

Aidan said: “It was tough, but so worth it. I am so thankful to everyone who supported me. It was a great atmosphere.”

Both coaches completed the race in under 1 hour 45 minutes. Cello was hoping to improve on his personal best time of 1.33, but at the 10-mile mark, he strained a muscle in his calf. “I couldn’t believe it,” he said. “It’s never happened to me before. I just had to keep going. Then I felt it go again. It’s ruined my time.”

Despite his injury, Cello clocked an amazing time of 1.44. He said: “The event was fantastic; it was great to see the public of Peterborough coming together and making the event special. It really helped the runners get to the finishing line.”

Sarah, Gaynor, Brodie and Kiera all took part in the earlier Anna’s Hope Fun Run

Anna’s Hope Fun Run

The curtain raiser to the Great Eastern Run was Anna’s Hope Fun Run, a 5km fun run. Boxing Futures was also well represented here with a team comprising Boxing Futures coach Sarah Huebler and loyal supporters Gaynor, Brodie and Kiera.

Brodie’s fundraiser page on Justgiving raised an incredible £525, beating the target of £500.