Twelve parents of students at a Tunbridge Wells school have succeeded in their attempt to set a Guinness World Record, by running nearly 1500km in under six days.

After meeting on the playground of Rose Hill School, on Coniston Avenue, the team ran a relay from John O'Groats to Lands End, and are the first collective to run the distance.

The fundraisers ran the equivalent of the M25 eight times, accumulating over £85,000 for Children’s Alzheimer’s charity, Niemann-Pick Research.

The parents set off from John O’Groats, the tip of Scotland, on Tuesday April 28 and completed a non-stop run at the boot of the UK, Lands’ End, on Sunday May 3 at 6pm.

One of the runners, Simon Crotty, said:

"I am really proud to be part of such a great team that has set a Guinness World Record for such a great cause. What’s phenomenal is that we aimed to complete the trek in six days and we actually beat our own target by half a day.

"It was mentally and physically exhausting. We started the journey just with hail then snow coming down, which is rare in John O’Groats. We survived on limited sleep, battling with cold and windy weather across steep terrain and country roads, but the positivity of the team kept us going."

He added: "We knew we were helping a truly worthwhile and overlooked cause, which helped us get through the challenge."

Niemann-Pick C is a relatively unknown disease, which affects approximately 100 children in the UK each year and is a terminal neurodegenerative disease.

The team received support from sports personalities such as Lord Coe, Paula Radcliffe, Tim Henman and TV Presenter Clare Balding.

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