Serial fundraiser Peter Sanderson putting running shoes to one side for latest charity challenge

The Portchester resident has organised a series of charity events in recent years, which have all involved running – mainly for long periods.

This year, though, he is co-hosting a 12-hour football coaching session to raise money for the Friends Fighting Cancer charity.

Along with Dan Mortimer, he will be coaching youngsters from 7am to 7pm on Saturday July 15 at Portchester’s On-Site Group Stadium.

There will be slots for 12 children per hour at a cost of £5 each.

That alone will raise £720 for FFC, but Sanderson said some who have signed up already have donated more.

Both men have their own football coaching company - Project Samba (Sanderson) and Pass, Shoot & Score (Mortimer).

Sanderson’s fundraising was first featured in The News in 2020 when, during the first lockdown, he completed the marathon distance by running up and down the road where he lives - over 100 laps in total.

That enabled him to give each AFC Portchester youth team between under-7 and under-11 £110 each.

That November, he and friend Warren Chebby raised over £1,200 for the Portchester Food Pantry by running 5k a day every day in the month.

In March 2021, Sanderson and some of his fellow AFC Portchester veterans team - aged between 35 and 48 - aimed to run 1,200 miles in the month between them, with the aim of raising £1,000.

Both totals were smashed, with the squad running a total of 1,405 miles and raising over £1,600.

Sanderson racked up 200 miles in the 30-day period, averaging 6.5 miles a day. He also ran the joint-longest single run - 20 miles - along with Keith Ashton, whose March total was 181 miles.

Three months later Sanderson and Ashton completed a 12-hour endurance challenge, raising more than £3,000.

They ran and walked around the perimeter of Portchester Rec and the neighbouring golf course, covering over 100 miles in the process.

In May 2022, Sanderson again roped in members of the Portchester vets squad to take part in a 24-hour relay run, raising money for FFC.

Sanderson, clocked up the most miles - 53 in 11 hours of running - while the oldest member of the relay running squad, 43-year-old Phil Jeynes, completed 47 miles in nine hours.

Ashton, 42, defied a knee injury to rack up 43 miles in eight and a half hours, while Keith McIntyre (age 42, 41 miles), Mike Counsell (37, 38), Mortimer (41, 34) and Simon Hore (37, 30) all contributed to the overall total. Prior to the event, Hore had never run more than a 5k in one day.

Anyone interested in taking part in the 12-hour coaching fundraiser can contact Sanderson on 07850508025.