England all-rounder Ben Stokes completed a half-marathon on Tuesday, in an impressive one hour and 39 minutes, to raise funds for the NHS in their fight against Covid-19.
Stokes had announced the decision on Sunday, saying the proceeds would go towards NHS Charities Together and Chane to Shine. After completing the run, he posted a video of the moment immediately after, where a tired Stokes was surrounded by his excited children.
“Please donate,” he said in the video. “That was so hard. All for a good cause … NHS Charities Together and Chance to Shine foundation. If you can, please go and donate. I’ll put a link in my swipe-up [Instagram].”
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The charity – Cricket Garden Marathon – was set up by three cricketing friends, and Stokes got in on it. He, reportedly, more than doubled the charity amount after his efforts – he ran 21.1kms in an hour and 39 minutes – and Laura Cordingley, the chief executive at Chance to Shine, lauded him.
I’ve just completed a half marathon to help @GardenMara with their efforts of raising funds for @NHSCharities and @Chance2Shine if you can please donate ??? https://t.co/ZvRmXL6XWl pic.twitter.com/AK7wcIDSR0
— Ben Stokes (@benstokes38) May 5, 2020
“Congratulations to Ben on running a brilliant time and, even more importantly, helping to raise funds for the NHS and Chance to Shine,” she said. “We’re absolutely delighted that he wanted to help out in these difficult times.”
The UK has been one of the countries severely affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. At the time of writing, 29,427 have been victim to the new coronavirus in the UK, with the disease accounting for over 258,000 lives worldwide.
