Durrell’s volunteer fundraiser goes ape for London Marathon

Will Highfield, in the gorilla suit he wants to wear at the London Marathon Picture: DURRELL. (33748208)

AN Islander who has raised over £60,000 for Durrell will be running the London Marathon this year dressed as a gorilla.

Will Highfield, who works as a Durrell customer liaison officer and gorilla-enclosure volunteer, will be hoping to complete the 26.2-mile course in a quicker time than his Jersey Marathon feat in 2019, which saw him run the distance in 3hr 53min.

Will Highfield. Picture: DURRELL. (33748198)

So far the Pride of Britain Award finalist has raised £63,000 for the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust after running a number of events, including the Jersey Marathon, Trail Monkey Round the Rock ultra-marathon, Centurion Running One Up Challenge and the Island Walk.

‘After running the full Jersey Marathon 2019 in my gorilla suit and raising an incredible £32,445.96 towards a brand-new, state-of-the-art indoor home for the gorillas, I don’t want to stop,’ he said.

‘My fundraising will continue until 2025, which would be Gerald Durrell’s 100th birthday. I am planning to run the official marathon distance in each of the Durrell rewilding sites.

‘These locations are Sumatra, India, Brazil, Floreana Island (Galapagos archipelago), St Lucia, Mauritius, Madagascar and Great Britain.’

He added: ‘As many of these locations where the Durrell rewilding sites are based do not have their own official marathons, I will be planning my own routes and running in each of these locations in my gorilla suit or in an animal suit that represents one of the animals that Durrell’s conservation teams are working to protect.’

Anyone wishing to donate should search for ‘Will’s Global Marathons for Durrell’ on justgiving.com.

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