FORMER Melksham professional footballer, Matthew Bound, is preparing for a “beast” of a charity challenge.
Matthew, who grew up in Melksham and went on to play for Southampton and Swansea, will run a total of 465 miles across 30 days to raise money in memory of an ex-teammate’s son, Ben Saunders, who died in August this year, at the age of 18, after being diagnosed with cancer.
About the challenge, which is nicknamed ‘The Beast”, Matthew said, “The Beast lasts for the month of November and requires me to run the same amount of miles as per the day of the month that I am on – one mile on the first day, two miles on the second day and so on.
“This all sounds quite nice until I reach the second week at which point fatigue will start to kick in. The final 10 days is brutal with 20+ miles every day. The last week requires me to run a total of 189 miles and a total of 465 in the month.”
Matthew has set himself a fundraising target of £3,000 for the Ben Saunders Foundation, and so far has raised over £1,000.
Matthew said, “The charity is a local one as Ben was a local lad that played for Bath City youth team and his dad was Tommy Saunders who was an ex-teammate of mine at youth level. Tommy went on to manage Chippenham Town and Calne Town amongst others. Tommy also played for Melksham Town FC in the 80s and Avon Boys at school age.
“Ben passed away in August following a brief fight with cancer which left everybody devastated – he was only 18. When Ben realised he was not going to get better he made the decision to set up a foundation to help other children and young adults with similar illnesses as him.”
To donate and support Matthew, visit the website: www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/the-beast-for-ben
For more information about the Ben Saunders Foundation, visit the website: www.bensaundersfoundation.org
Above: Matthew Bound.
