Two army reservists set to run Sunderland 10K while carrying an extra 35 pounds of weight for two local charities

Captain Michael Butler and Lance Corporal Connan Cuthbertson are set to take part in the Sunderland 10K run on Sunday, June 20 – where they will be carrying an additional 35 pounds of weight.

The duo from the 251 medical squadron wanted to add the extra weight to make the run more of a challenge – with their sights set on the Great North Run later this year if it goes well.

Michael and Connan have set up two online fundraisers, one for Veterans in Crisis and another for the Foundation of Light, with both causes being close to their hearts.

Michael has explained to the Echo why the local charities were chosen and revealed that training has been going well so far.

The 37-year-old from Southwick said: “Connan’s day job is working with the Foundation of Light carrying out pre-uniform services which basically gives kids a good footing, along with the skills and qualifications needed to go into the armed forces.

"And then in previous years, I’ve ran on behalf of Veterans in Crisis so we thought that we’d run on behalf of both charities and with everything that’s gone on, we wanted to keep it close to home.

"We were not sure if it was going to go ahead but we’ve done a fair bit of training so we’re both looking forward to it and the extra 35 pounds of weight makes it a bit more of a challenge as we’re also hoping to do the Great North Run.”

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