Southsea man runs Great South Run barefoot for humanitarian aid charity

Brave Jason West, 60, ran the entire 10-mile course through Portsmouth without any shoes in aid of his chosen charity Médecine Sans Frontiéres, Doctors Without Borders.

Doctors Without Borders is an international, medical humanitarian organisation working in more than 70 countries across the world – saving people’s lives in conflict zones, natural disasters and epidemics.

Using his previous experience from being an elite runner, Jason crossed the finishing line in an impressive time of 1 hour and 32 minutes.

Jason, of Southsea, who managed to raise more than £1,000 in support of Doctors Without Borders, said: ‘There was no particular reason for me choosing to support this charity, other than they need all the additional support they can get – every little action and donation can help them.

‘They are an extremely hard-working charity and I feel sometimes their work may go unnoticed, so other than raising money I also wanted to raise awareness too.

‘It wasn’t until the fifth mile that I started to struggle slightly where my quads began to lock, but overall, every mile was worth it.’