Help the Hungry: Family of four walking day and night on treadmill to complete 813 miles for charity

South London family aims to cover 75 miles (about three marathons) on treadmill each day, and whole 813-mile route (about 31 marathons) in 11 days

The Budd family is walking day and night on a treadmill to complete the distance of a 813-mile walk for charities including The Independent’s campaign partner The Felix Project.

Naomi and Mark Budd wanted to do something for those who have been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic.

They settled on a challenge to walk the distance from John o’ Groats to Land’s End on a treadmill in their living room.

The family from Herne Hill, south London, aims to raise £20,000 for four charities: Shelter, Place2Be, Age UK and London’s biggest food distributor, The Felix Project.

Through its Help the Hungry campaign, The Independent is attempting to raise £10m for The Felix Project to help feed the poor and vulnerable in London.

Naomi told The Independent: “It was a spur of the moment idea that I think was prompted by seeing a lot of people do fantastic things to make a positive contribution.

“We wanted to raise money for some of the charities that maybe haven’t had as much national attention, but have been seriously impacted by the coronavirus outbreak.

“We chose the Felix Project, because the work they’re doing now is incredibly valuable, and also for the important reasons why the charity was set up in the first place.

“When you live in London you get a sense of the food poverty issue, but you’re still quite removed from the reality of what it’s like to go without the basics.”

With the help of their children, Mattie and Yasmin, the family have split the walk up into eight-hour shifts during the day and night.

The Budd family is walking 813 miles to raise funds for charities including The Felix Project (Mark Budd)

The family hopes to cover 75 miles (about three marathons) on the treadmill each day, and the whole 813-mile route (about 31 marathons) in 11 days.

“The first couple of days were brutal,” said Naomi. “We put a map up on the wall and we’ve marked out every 20 miles with a sticker.

“You feel as if you’ve walked an eternity and then you look up and realise you’ve only walked 20 miles. We’re clocking about 160,000 steps a day, which is a staggering amount.

“By the end, it will probably be about 1.5 million steps.

“Mark worked out most of the logistics in terms of how we could complete the walk and the children have been fantastic. It’s very much a team effort.”

The family began on Friday 24 April, have already raised more than £17,300, and are live-streaming their experience on Facebook.

The Budd family hopes to complete the 813-mile walk on 4 May (Mark Budd)

By this afternoon, they expect to have covered 700 miles and will be walking through the equivalent of Devon, towards Cornwall.

Naomi added: “People have been really generous both through their support and donations, and the support from the charities has been phenomenal.

“Izzy and Amy from The Felix Project have been great, and that gives us a massive incentive to keep going when we realise what the funds will mean for the charities.

“It’s a significant challenge – mentally and physically, but it’s also a small gesture when you think about the current environment.

“I’m confident we will do it.”

To support the Budd family visit their fundraising page or follow their walk on Facebook.