TWO YEARS ago, a team of seven athletes from Clayton-le-Moors Harriers successfully completed the Everest Marathon.

They ran 26 miles and 385 yards from an altitude of 17,500 feet following a gruelling 17 day trek through the Himalayas.

But that was the easy part for Garry Wilkinson, John Roche, Neil Worswick, Tyrone Morgan, Peter Booth, Mark Brown and Candice Leah, who also succeeded in hitting their target of raising a staggering £50,000 for charity with a series of fund-raising events spread over the year.

The Everest Marathon Fund, which funds water aid, Leprosy projects in Nepal and hospital ventures in the Himalayan region, has benefited to the tune of £10,000.

And another £10,000 has been donated to "Get Kids Going", the charity that provides wheelchairs and back-up for disabled kids.

Elite wheelchair athlete Shelly Woods from Blackpool has benefited directly from this donation.

Locally £1,000 has been given to help train a guide dog for a blind man in Barrowford and £300 has gone to the Marie Curie Cancer Fund.

That still means that there is £30,000 in the kitty ... and the team is scouring East Lancashire for worthy beneficiaries so that the project can leave a lasting legacy.

The focus will be on disabled sport as the whole idea was inspired by the 2004 Paralympics in Athens when one of the team, Mark Brown, was competing, but individuals or schools and sports other than athletics will be considered.

To publicise their quest, the seven will be sponsoring this summer's Pendle and Burnley Grand Prix.

Not only will this raise their own profile, but it will increase interest in the series.

As many of the individual races themselves raise charity cash, they are hoping to prime the pump and help yet more money to be raised for good causes.

The Grand Prix looks like being a cracker this year with three races added to the nine on the card last year.

The six-mile long Hameldon Hill Race comes into the series and kicks off the summer on Sunday May 6. After the well-established Pinhaw Moor Fell Race on Friday May 11, the Colne 11 Mile Multi-Terrain Race is revived on Sunday May 20. The third newcomer is the Red Rose Whalley Nab Race from Whalley at the end of July. welcome For more details of the Grand Prix, contact Jack Bottomley on 01282-422398 or log on to www.clayton-le-moors-harriers.co.uk . For more on the Everest Marathon Challenge Fund call Garry Wilkinson on 01254-824599.