Campaigners dress up as veg for half marathon

A group of mental health campaigners promoting gardening will dress as vegetables to complete a half marathon for charity.

Stewart Underwood, Therese Viljoen, Dan Ferrandino, Dan Nye and Tom Knight will be among thousands running the Cambridge Half Marathon on Sunday.

They will come to the start line dressed as a sunflower, carrot, cucumber, pea and aubergine - all to raise money for their chosen charity, Cultivating Change.

"What better way than to combine vegetables with running, to look silly and hopefully raise a huge amount of money," Mr Ferrandino said.

The charity aims to engage communities through gardening and growing to support mental health.

Mr Ferrandino will be taking to the start line dressed as a cucumber and said he really wanted to make the 13.1 mile (22.1km) race "a challenge".

He has been out and about training in his costume and said the pressure was on to finish the race and raise as much money as they could.

"Cultivating Change is a great charity," he said, adding: "They are reliant on donations so being able to get as much sponsorship as possible is super important and what better way than to combine vegetables with running, to look silly and hopefully raise a huge amount of money."

Mr Knight initially planned to race as a broccoli, but changed his mind and opted for an aubergine.

He said he was slightly worried about some chafing around his chin during the run, but otherwise was looking forward to it.

Mr Nye, the pea, added he felt "very enthusiastic" about the race and said it would offer a lot of "fun and enjoyment".

Ms Viljoen said she was "very excited" and glad to be getting fit for a "good cause", while Mr Underwood was also very keen to get running.

The Cambridge Half Marathon starts at 09:30 GMT from Midsummer Common.

Traffic measures are in place across the city and organisers recommend planning any journeys in advance.

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