TWO Lymm Rugby Club players have completed a marathon which has raised more than £1,400 for Cancer Research UK.

Jacob Delaney and Ollie Larkin, both of Lymm's Junior Colts side, teamed up to run the 26.2-mile distance from Lymm to Old Trafford and back for a charity close to both of their hearts.

“I had it in my mind for a while,” said Jacob.

“The motivation was from my nan, she passed away from cancer on Boxing Day, 2019, so that was the motivation behind picking Cancer Research. I just thought ‘there’s not a better way to do it than for a marathon’.”

Cancer has also had a history in Ollie’s family too.

It was never going to be easy, but the Lymm Sixth Form students, aged 16 and 17, felt really tested by the challenge.

“It was tough. It really pushed us to our limits,” the boys agreed.

Lymm Rugby Club Colts at Old Trafford

Ollie Larkin, left, and Jacob Delaney after arriving at Old Trafford

“But the end product after it, I’d do it again tomorrow to raise the amount of money we had done for Cancer Research,” Jacob added.

Ollie continued: “We’ve had support all the way through with our family, and some of our mates.”

And Jacob explained: “Our family has been most supportive because obviously, we’ve had to eat in a certain way, train in a certain way and everything like that so for months they’ve had to work around us so they’ve been understanding, that’s helped.”

Having trained running-wise for around six months, when they committed to the challenge, they had to train specifically targeted towards long-distance and completed two half-marathons prior to it.

“It wasn’t the easiest but because we do so much sport, it kind of helped us because we’re running, our aerobic fitness wasn’t too bad,” said Ollie.

Lymm Rugby Club Colts at finish

Lymm Rugby Club Colts Ollie Larkin, left, and Jacob Delaney at the finish

And on the huge sum raised for a charity that means a lot to them, they were rightfully pleased with themselves.

“Very proud. It’s not really hit my family as much so I’m proud of J as well for doing it and for me helping him,” Ollie added.

Jacob continued: “I thought when he hit £500 [the goal], I thought we’d maybe, just maybe, get to around £1,000 but £1,400 blew our minds, to be honest.

“The night after we did it, I think we raised something like £300, which is more than what we raised on the first night of putting it out, so I’m glad to see people have been keeping track of it throughout.”

You can donate to the GoFundMe page here.