A postie from March will take on the first of two gruelling challenges this May in his quest to raise money for the Anthony Nolan Charity.

Nick Winterton - a postman at the March Delivery Office - is taking on the London to Brighton and The Cotswold Way Challenge. These are both 62-mile (100km) continuous hikes.

Organisers Action Challenge only allow stops are for comfort breaks, refreshments and medical treatment. Target times are around 24-33 hours. 

The London to Brighton challenge is May 25/26 and the Cotswold Way hike is June 22/23.

Nick is raising money for the Anthony Nolan Charity that makes life-saving connections between people with blood disorders and blood cancers, and incredible strangers who donate their stem cells. They have been saving lives for 50 years.

This London to Brighton hike will be Nick's fourteenth challenge since 2010 with the previous 13 raising around £18,000 for different charities.

This year's challenge is close to Nick's heart as it is dedicated to his sister-in-law Kristine Gettings, aged 44, who is now one year on after a life saving stem cell donation via bone marrow.

Kristine has been poorly since July 2022 after she was diagnosed with MDS a rare blood cancer which usually develops into Leukaemia. Without a bone marrow transplant she would only live a couple of years. In the world of bone marrow transplantation, she has recently celebrated her first birthday.

“She owes her life to Anthony Nolan and a bone marrow donor from Tasmania," explains Nick, but he says "others are not so lucky".

“The only way to repay Anthony Nolan for her second chance in life is to raise some money, promote awareness and get as many people as possible to sign up to the stem cell register.

"With a simple swab kit, you could also be a potential match for someone. You may never be needed, or your stem cells and yours alone could save a life.”

“It’s a pleasure to help her and the least I can do. The awareness is just as important as the fundraising and if it persuades someone to join the stem cell register or donate it will be job done.”

“I still get asked weekly whether I’m doing any challenges and the generosity and goodwill from family, friends and customers over the years is always one of the highlights. It also adds extra pressure as you know you can’t let anyone down.”

You can donate to Nick's Just Giving page here:

“The challenges are again two of the hardest in the UK. London to Brighton is a new one for me and the Cotswold Way is one I did way back in 2017, but is a completely different route now.”

“Hopefully everything will go ok but with so many factors involved and very little recovery time between the two you can never get over confident even after all these years. The minute you get complacent you will fail and I haven’t failed any yet."

There are two registers you can sign up to: Anthony Nolan at www.anthonynolan.org if you are age 16-30 and www.dkms.org.uk if you are age 17-55.