A soldier has run four marathons in the space of a weekend to help raise funds for a community playground and memorial garden in Thruxton.

Warrant Officer Class 2 Neil Coleman ran over 100 miles in order to raise funds for a memorial garden in memory of Captain Sir Tom Moore, as well as a covered play area for the village. He began his challenge on Friday, March 19, and finished late on Sunday, March 21.

Neil told the Advertiser that he thought the had ‘bit off more than he could chew’ but received an ‘incredible’ response from villagers, and ended up raising over £3,200 for the project.

The roots of the challenge began three years ago, when Neil said he was “in a tricky place” following deaths in his families. However, he said the three villages of Thruxton, Fyfield and Kimpton helped him through this difficult time.

“The community pulled around me and helped me to recover,” he said.

As a result, he wanted to give something back to the villages, and with his girlfriend a trustee of Thruxton’s sports field, he found out that they were looking to raise funds towards their project.

“I rang Richard Smart, the chairman,” he said, “and I said I was happy to run a few laps. I suggested 100 laps of the field per village of Thruxton, Fyfield and Kimpton.”

In total, Neil estimates this distance runs to around 105 miles, just over the equivalent of four miles. He decided to run this over the space of one weekend.

“I think I bit off more than I could chew at the start to be honest,” he said. “I didn’t think about it as much as I should have done”.

Neil ran around 30 miles on the Friday, and then almost 50 on Saturday in three runs across the day. On Sunday, he did another 11 miles before running to Andover and back, finishing his challenge running laps of the field he was raising funds for.

Having raised £2,500 in donations before the challenge, Neil says the pressure was on to make sure he finished.

“The pressure of having that and not letting anyone down was tough,” he said. “It wasn’t really a question of not completing it”.

However, he said the support of villagers got him through, with villagers clapping him from outside their houses, ringing bells and even making a cake.

“They all kept me going,” he said.

The money will now go towards a new children’s play area in Thruxton, as well as a small orchard and garden for adults. Initially, some suggested the garden should be named after Neil in honour of his achievement, but he refused that offer. Instead, the garden will be named in honour of another military hero, Captain Sir Tom Moore.

Along with other fundraising events, over £11,000 has now been raised towards the project, with work underway.

“It went bigger than I thought,” he said. “I’d like to thank the villages for their support, as well as Richard Smart for all his effort. The support we’ve had has been so much more than just donating, the spirit has been brilliant.”