Instead the pair found themselves in Chicago, taking part in their annual marathon which could only be described in one way – a nightmare. The city hit the news last weekend after organisers had to call off the run half-way through because of the searing 31?C (88?F) heat, lack of water and the fact that hundreds of runners were hospitalised. One runner, a 35-year-old policeman, died half-way round the route and emergency services were rushed off their feet taking over-heated runners to hospital. Mark and Andy, who ran the marathon in aid of the Macmillan Cancer charity, eventually finished the 26.2-mile course in 6 hr and 6 hr 24 min respectively, albeit by walking the last nine miles. ‘It was brutal,’ Andy said.
