MILKMAN Julian Huckle proved he has a lot of bottle by running a marathon and climbing the UK's highest mountain over two days. Julian (50), from Orton Waterville, tackled the tough feat in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support and raised 1,629.
He said: "This was my seventh marathon. But to do both the marathon and climb together was perhaps pushing it a bit. I like doing slightly crazy things now and again. You have to push yourself and your body to extremes. I was a bit sore and stiff afterwards. But knowing I had raised that amount was good encouragement."
Julian completed the Loch Ness Marathon on October 3 before climbing Ben Nevis, which stands at 4,409ft and is the highest peak in Scotland and the UK, on October 4. He completed the marathon in a respectable three hours and 28 minutes - breaking the over-50s marathon record for his running club, Werrington Joggers, which he has been a member of for five years. He had originally hoped to swap his trainers for climbing gear straightaway and head up Ben Nevis immediately after the marathon but he had to wait until the next day because it was getting too dark.
He said: "I had wanted to do both in the same day but night drew in by the end of the race, so I had to do the climb the next day."
Julian's sister, Giselle Brown, drove up to Scotland to support him but the climb itself was a solo effort.
He said: "I did it on my own. I was up there alone for 20 minutes at the top, then another man finally came and he took some photos for me. All the pain was worth it. Having support from my customers and raising that amount of money really spurred me on as well. The thought of letting people down kept me going. People had been stopping me in the street and saying good luck. I left letters explaining what I was going to do and they have been generous, a great support."
The grandfather-of-one chose to support Macmillan Cancer Support because it is a cause backed by his employers Dairy Crest, based in Eastern Industry, Peterborough.
Two years ago, he supported their chosen charity, the Make A Wish Foundation - which grants wishes for seriously-ill children - by running the London Marathon and the Great Eastern Run in Peterborough. In both races, he ran dressed as a Rubik's cube and raised 3,150 over both races. Julian - who has worked for Dairy Crest for 21 years - sees helping others as part of his job.
He started with a round in Bretton, which he kept for 17 years before transferring to Stamford and outlying villages, such as Barnack and Toft. He gets up at 1.30am each day and is out on the road by 3am making deliveries. But there is more than just milk in his float, due to a new online service milk&more launched by Dairy Crest a year ago, he delivers more than 250 different household products from bread and milk to compost.
Julian said: "You help out running errands and I have changed a few lightbulbs in my time, called emergency services for elderly people who have collapsed and the police if yobs are hanging around - you look out for the community in the early hours."
