Football fans John Harris and Leigh James are running the length of Offa’s Dyke in seven days to raise money for the Welsh football supporters’ charity Gol.

The pals will stop over in Hay-on-Wye on Sunday night and set off for Newchurch on Monday morning as they aim to complete the 188-mile route in seven stages, effectively running a marathon every day for a week.

They will leave Chepstow on Saturday, July 8 and hope to arrive in Prestatyn on Friday, July 14.

From Newchurch the pair will pass through Kington, and possibly stop at Gladestry, and stay at the Old Vicarage B&B in Evancoyd on Monday night. On Tuesday morning the pair will leave from Knighton as they continue north.

John, 49, an IT director who lives near Berkhamsted in Buckinghamshire, said: "We have run a few marathons, 30 between us, including three in three days on Britain’s oldest trail, The Ridgeway.

"We thought that was going to be the height of our lunacy until a weekend away with our families on the Welsh border when we ran a few miles on Offa’s Dyke. While running, Leigh told me the trail runs the whole length of the Welsh border and I joked we should run the whole thing. A lunchtime post-run pint sealed our fate as we persuaded each other it was a great idea."

Gol – the charity set up by Welsh football fans - helps underprivileged children, both home and abroad, when the Welsh national team plays. Formed in 2002 it has helped over 30 orphanages, children’s hospital’s and schools in countries including Azerbaijan, Macedonia and Ukraine.

Travel consultant Leigh, 48, a former Welsh league goalkeeper for Taff’s Well and an ex-pupil at Radyr Comprehensive school in Cardiff, is now living in Sweden, but that doesn’t stop him going to every Wales game.

He said: "Watching Wales play many times abroad in many out-of-the-way spots like Armenia and Azerbaijan has opened my eyes to parts of the world most people don’t visit. We have had some amazing experiences and met some fantastic people. I even met the woman I eventually married on one trip.

"Some of these places are very poor and it has been a privilege to help local causes, like orphanages and children’s homes, while we are there. The money we raise will go towards the work the fans’ charity Gol carries out. Visits are being planned when we go to Moldova in September and Georgia in October."