Record breaking marathon effort starts early from John O’Groats

At 5.00am on Saturday 22nd March, one avid fundraiser will take his first steps on an epic marathon challenge. Bernie Hollywood, a 48 year old father of two from the Wirrall, will attempt to complete 35 marathons in 22 days, culminating in the Flora London Marathon on April 13th.

Bernie will start his journey at John o’Groats, covering an average of 50 miles per day over a gruelling 900 mile cross country course, before joining the thousands of other runners at the annual London marathon. Members of the public should have no trouble spotting Bernie when he passes through their town, as he will make the entire journey with a 15 foot Barnardo’s billboard, weighing almost two stone, strapped to his back.

Bernie is no stranger to endurance challenges - last year he became the first person to run the Flora London Marathon course seven times in seven consecutive days. Bernie is also one of just 50 people in the world to have trekked unsupported to the geographic North Pole. His mammoth efforts have not been in vain and over the last twenty years he has raised in excess of £750,000 for various charities.

The aim of his latest feat, Bernie’s Journey, is to raise £100,000 for Barnardo’s and change the lives of 50 young people for ever, through the essential services Barnardo’s provides, such as counselling and fostering.

He first became familiar with the work of Barnardo’s when it was chosen as the 2007 Charity of the Year by his employer, Lloyds TSB. Bernie commented: “My friends, family and colleagues regularly tell me I am crazy for taking on these challenges but to me it makes perfect sense. I was lucky enough to visit a Barnardo’s project in my local area - seeing first hand exactly what the money we raise can do to improve the lives of vulnerable young people is all the motivation I need.”

Olympic Champion and longstanding Barnardo’s supporter Daley Thompson said: “I have to take my hat off to Bernie - doing just one marathon is a great achievement but running for 15 hours a day, for three weeks would take its toll on even the most experienced athletes. I wish him the best of luck on his journey.”

Supporters can follow Bernie’s progress via his daily blog and route tracker at his dedicated site www.barnardos.org.uk/berniesjourney . The site includes details of how to make donations towards Bernie’s Journey. Bernie will be joined on his challenge by his trusted support team who will be collecting donations on route.

Bernie’s Journey has a number of valued supporters including the following:

Ingenico Northern Europe, secure payment specialists are supporting Bernie’s journey by providing state-of-the-art i7910 payment terminals which will be used to collect donations en route via credit or debit card.

MBT is a proud supporter of Bernie’s journey. Bernie is wearing MBTs physiological footwear during his journey, which has been proven to boost muscle activity and protect the body from injury.

LTI Vehicles dealership and leading taxi retailer M& O London have donated the iconic TX4 as the lead support vehicle during Bernie’s journey. The vehicle is the latest incarnation of the world famous London black cab.

Volkswagen has kindly provided Bernie with his home from home throughout the journey. The Volkswagen California is the latest incarnation of Volkswagen’s long tradition of campervans and makes the perfect vehicle for his challenge.