Will Luff, a Buckinghamshire grandfather who designs costume spectacles for the film industry, will run 90kms in the blistering heat of South Africa later this year to raise money for an Aids charity.
Luff will compete in his 14th ultra-marathon, the ‘Comrades Marathon’, which takes place in South Africa on May 29. Luff will race from Pietermaritzburg to Durban to raise funds for the Hillcrest AIDS Centre Trust which is located along the route. In addition Luff, a director of The Fairplay Optical Group, will also donate 60 reading spectacles to destitute grannies, known as Gogos, who live close to the Comrades route. Many of the Gogos care for orphaned grandchildren.
As a member of the UK Comrades team Luff has two consecutive Comrades races under his belt and has been running between 100 and 150 miles each month to prepare for this year’s race. ‘The Comrades is not only the world’s oldest ultra-marathon, but also the largest,’ said Luff. ‘It takes loads of will power to race 90km in the African heat, so running for a charity like HACT gives me the incentive to keep on going when the going gets tough.’
Will has been running since he was at school where he was a keen Cross Country team member. His four sons also run marathons and two have completed Comrades, including Matt Luff who will again be competing in this year’s race.
If you wish to support HACT via Will’s participation in the Comrades, you can donate via: https://my.give.net/comrades4hillcrest