A NETHERTHIRD man has taken fundraising in the name of charity to a whole new level.

Rab McAvoy recently completed the Thames Path Challenge, a 100 kilometre race, to, raise funds for Starlight Children’s Foundation, the UK’s leading wish-granting charity for children and young people with serious and terminal illness.

Rab, 36, is a schools instructor for the Royal Engineers, currently based in Bovington, Dorset.

He first came into contact with Starlight when his regiment volunteered at Starlight’s annual Flying Escape at Popham Airfield, Hampshire.

Rab said: “It was amazing to see hundreds of kids and their families enjoying a break from hospital and their treatment for a day, experiencing things they would never normally experience.

“The memory that sticks with me most from that day was when I was talking to a young girl who said that she was in the cadets. She loved seeing our army display and I said that when she was’s a bit older, she could think about joining the TA.

“Her mum began to well up and explained that unfortunately, she didn’t have a lot of time left, she wouldn’t be making the TA.

“I looked back at the girl who was smiling and laughing, despite everything she was facing. It was then that I decided I needed to do something for Starlight, who help children and their families just like that little girl forget their worries, even if only for a day.”

Rab signed up to walk the 100km Thames Path Challenge for Starlight and immediately embarked on a strict training programme in February.

He added: “I was doing five or six hours of training a day, which was hard to fit around work and my social life, but I really enjoyed it.”

Rab completed several marathons in the run-up to the challenge and as his fitness and confidence improved, he decided he’d like to put himself to the test and try and run the epic 100km distance. This meant that Rab would have to complete the route, which that follows the Thames River for most of its length, in under 16 hours.

On the day itself, he didn’t feel nervous, just excited. The route saw Rab run through Kew, past Hampton Court Palace, beneath Windsor Castle and on through beautiful countryside in Henley.

Rab completed the course in a just 13staggering thirteen hours and 58fifty-eight minutes and finished in 54th place out of 3,000 participators.

So far, Rab has raised around a wonderful £2,000 for Starlight.

Anyone who would like to and to help Rab raise even more for Starlight’s seriously and terminally ill children can do so by visiting: www.justgiving.com/fundraising