When you are already feeling unprepared for a looming marathon run, the last thing you want to hear is it is taking place a fortnight earlier than you anticipated. That's what happened for Bristol Rovers boss Joey Barton, who completed the Manchester Marathon on Sunday in support of Nick Anderton.
The 26-year-old, a promotion-winner with the Gas last season, is undergoing chemotherapy after being diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer, last year. Gasheads and his coaches and teammates alike have rallied around in support, with a team-wide head shave January raising more than £46,000 for Anderton and his young family.
Rovers fan Nik Weeks, meanwhile, went to extremes in his support. The police sergeant at the Port of Bristol ran an incredible seven marathons in seven days in March, raising more than £11,000 to be shared between Anderton and Bristol Rovers Community Trust.
