Runner's 24-hour ultramarathon challenge for MND

A runner aims to spend over 24 hours on his feet taking on a 108-mile (174km) ultramarathon challenge to raise money for motor neurone disease (MND) research.

Andrew Richardson said he planned to set off from Leeds to the Dales on Saturday, where he would then head up Yorkshire's Three Peaks - Pen-y-ghent, Whernside and Ingleborough - before aiming to arrive home in Horsforth on Sunday.

The 30-year-old said the challenge had been inspired by the fundraising efforts of Rob Burrow and Kevin Sinfield, and was also in memory of his best friend's mum who died from the disease.

He said: "After she passed away, it made me think I have to get out there and try my best and raise whatever I can to help."

MND leads to the weakening and stiffening of nerves over time and usually affects how sufferers walk, talk, eat and breathe.

Progression of the disease can be rapid - with more than half of those affected dying within two years of being diagnosed.

About 5,000 adults in the UK have the disease at any one time.

Richardson, a civil engineer, admitted training for the run had taken over his life, but he was "ready to give it a good crack".

"It is a huge challenge, but it pales in comparison to what families face when they receive a diagnosis," he said.

"They don't get to hit pause or stop when they're tired, so I won't either."

Richardson said he planned to have a total of two rests along the way, where he would eat some food and be checked over by a physio.

"The rest of it, they'll be little stops here and there to get some water, but otherwise it's literally just straight through, keep going and try and get back as quick as I can."

Richardson said that up until this challenge, the furthest he had run was 62 miles (100km), which was also in aid of the MND Association.

He said that so far he had raised at least £8,000 towards his target of £10,000, adding that the support he had received was "amazing".

Richardson said he anticipated he would spend Sunday "lying down in bed, probably with a couple of pizzas".

"Then I'll be up and organising the next one, I guess," he said.

"It comes in threes, so it looks like I'll be in for something else next year."

Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North