Two friends are set to take on a gruelling 100km challenge for charity in memory of their dads, who both passed away in the last year.

Amy-Jo Simpson, 35, from Boyton End, and Lindsay Smith, 38, from Cornish Hall End, will be running the 62-mile London 2 Cambridge event on July 2.

The part road, part trail route between the two cities begins from Hackney Marsh, near the Olympic Park, and continues up the Lea Valley, on through countryside and wetlands into Cambridgeshire.

Mum-of-two Amy-Jo, who is a personal trainer, lost her 67-year-old dad John Saunders to cancer a few weeks ago, and will be taking on the challenge for the Bone Cancer Research Trust.

Lindsay, also a mother-of-two, will be raising money for the Yorkshire Air Ambulance after her father David Allen, 79, died in September following a heart attack.

Lindsay said: “I’m really looking forward to it. My family think I’m completely crazy, but they’ve been very supportive about it all. I did 56 miles in two days over the weekend, which was tough but I hope I’m able to enjoy the day.

“I’ve raised £560 so far and it would be great to get to £1,000 for such a great cause.”

Ami-Jo said: “I’ve cycled from London to Cambridge before, but obviously running it will be a whole different challenge. My training has dipped slightly over the last three weeks because of my dad, but I am looking forward to it. I think it’s going to be about how we cope mentally on the day more than anything else.

“My dad was riddled with cancer, and I’ve done a lot of work for prostate cancer already so I wanted to help the bone marrow trust this time.

“I’ve raised around £400, and it would be nice to get to £1,000.”

To donate to Lindsay, text LSMI78 to 70070 to give £5 or visit https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Lindsay-Smith24. For Ami-Jo, visit https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Amy-Jo-Simpson.