A cricketer is attempting to break the Guinness World Record for the longest ever run-up prior to bowling a match ball.<\/p>\n
Sam Bodoano, from Worplesdon, near Guildford, will cover 62 miles (100km), starting at Lord’s Cricket Ground in north London at midnight on Saturday.<\/p>\n
He will complete the challenge by delivering the first ball at Valley End Cricket Club (VECC) in Woking at 14:00 BST on Sunday, with the attempt raising money for UK cancer charity The Ruth Strauss Foundation.<\/p>\n
“I saw a video of the current record holder, who managed 24km (15 miles), and thought, ‘I’ve got to give this a go’,” said Bodoano.<\/p>\n
Speaking to BBC Radio Surrey<\/a>, he added that, in order to make the record attempt official, he has to run the 100km whilst holding a cricket ball and dressed in full cricket whites. <\/p>\n “I’ve then got to go straight into playing a proper match, with umpires, scorers and two teams of 11,” said Bodoano, who regularly posts offbeat athletic challenges to his 30k followers on social media under the monicker @ironbodz. <\/p>\n “The run beforehand is going to take me 14 hours or so and my dad will be the batsman facing me when I finally get to bowl that first ball.<\/p>\n “So, a little bit of extra pressure there for me. But I might actually get him out, you never know,” he added. <\/p>\n The event has been backed by VECC, with supporters encouraged to follow the cricket game live and to donate and contribute prizes for a fundraising raffle. <\/p>\n The Ruth Strauss Foundation set up by former England cricket captain Sir Andrew Strauss after his with Ruth died, aged 46, from a rare lung cancer, leaving behind two young children.<\/p>\n The current holder of the record for the longest bowling run-up (male) is Tom Dunn who ran in full cricket whites whilst holding a match ball from Bethnal Green in east London all the way to Wandsworth Common in south London – a distance of 15 miles (24km) – in August 2024.<\/p>\n Follow BBC Surrey on Facebook, external<\/a>, on X, external<\/a>, and on Instagram, external<\/a> and listen to BBC Radio Surrey on Sounds<\/a>. Send your story ideas to southeasttoday@bbc.co.uk, external<\/a> or WhatsApp us on 08081 002250.<\/p>\n