A GROUP of Royal Mail workers are looking to sign up another 25 people to take part in a world record attempt for the most runners roped together in a marathon.

The team of 30 staff from depots in Brecon, Llandrindod Wells and surrounding areas have already signed up 65 other runners for the attempt and need 25 more to be sure of breaking the record at The Wales Marathon being held in the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park on Sunday, July 7.

The attempt is in being made after the Royal Mail staff learned one of their managers, Phillip Morgan, had been diagnosed with stomach cancer. Mr Morgan, affectionately known as Pip, is a keen cyclist who is “loved by everyone” at Royal Mail. His colleagues were so devastated by Pip’s diagnosis they decided to take on the world record attempt to raise money for Cancer Research Wales.

More than half of the team are postmen and women – some of whom have not even attemped a 10k run before.

Leading the Guinness World Record attempt is Neal Gardner, a colleague of Mr Morgan’s for more than 10 years. Neal was part of a team that broke the same world record at the 2009 London Marathon, when 30 runners were tied together. The team is aiming to beat the current record, set in 2017, of 112 people.

Delivery office manager Neal said: “We’ve been blown away with the response to this challenge with more people signing up to take part all the time. Some of these people have never even run a 10k but they’ve been inspired to take part because of Pip and the great work that Cancer Research Wales do. I’ve worked with Pip for over 10 years and he’s bonkers, he’s so happy go lucky and he wouldn’t think twice about jumping on a bike and cycling 120 miles. That’s just him. He’s always been incredibly supportive of me with my job and this is my way of thanking him and showing our support during a really challenging time.

“Around 40 to 50 people taking part know and love Pip and will be taking part and showing their support for this lovely man. Everyone else in the team has been affected by, or had loved ones affected by cancer in some way too, so this is a really personal cause which is close to them. We hope to raise as much as we can for Cancer Research Wales and to show Pip just how much he means to everyone.”

Neal, 33, has secured 120 places in the race, with 25 to be filled. He is now calling on any keen runners, or those keen to take part, to get in touch and sign up. He added: “This will be an unforgettable event for a fantastic cause, so we’d urge anyone who wants to join us on the day to get in touch. It really will be a once in a lifetime event so please sign up.”

Dale Evans, a former postman who is now a fundraiser at Cancer Research Wales, will be joining the team in the record attempt. He said: “The money the team raises will make a huge difference to the lives of thousands of people diagnosed with cancer across Wales annually, and we truly can’t thank them enough.

“I look forward to crossing the finish line by their side.”

To take part in the event email [email protected] or call 07841787682. For details visit www.cancerresearchwales.co.uk/crw_events/walesmarathon/