Boston United's Josh Burkitt runs his heart out for our front line workers and NHS Charities Together

A 16-year-old who completed 31 consecutive half-marathons throughout May has raised more than £8,200 for NHS Charities Together.

Josh Burkitt, a Boston United scholar from Newark, set out to raise just £100 when he took his first strides, but 651 kilometres later, he is in reach of £10,000 as donations continue to roll in.

Crowds were set to gather to cheer Burkitt over the finishing line on Sunday afternoon, but he asked supporters to stay at home and watch over Facebook live.

“It was an amazing feeling to finish,” he said. “I was so proud.

“In an ideal world it would have been great to have everybody there, but people watched from home and all of the messages kept me going.”

He said the 404 miles presented countless problems along the way, but he never felt like giving in.

“The most challenging thing was battling the little niggles and minor injuries because I knew I could get through them, but they were tough,” Burkitt said.

“Some mornings I was struggling to walk, and when I knew I had to run a half-marathon I realised how much of a strain it was on my body.

“Monday (the day after finishing the challenge) wasn’t great, but I felt much better on Tuesday — even though I have still got a little bit of a limp.”

On reflection he said his hardest run was number 19, when he unofficially broke the Guinness World Records challenge of 18 consecutive half-marathons.

In the meantime he said he planned to rest, but did not rule out further challenges in the future.

If you want to donate go to his page.