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Editor defies injury to complete charity half-marathon

A weekly newspaper editor who runs a boxing club in his spare time led a team of amateur boxers in a half-marathon, despite suffering a hamstring injury.

Mike Lewis, of the South Wales Guardian, was part of a nine-strong team from Cardigan Amateur Boxing Club who raised £1,400 for Cardigan School’s special needs unit by taking part in the Cardiff Half-Marathon.

He took part in the event in October despite a hamstring injury, after being taunted by his team-mates when he threatened to pull out.

Mike, who is an assistant Welsh Amateur Boxing Association coach, is a former boxing correspondent for the Sunday Telegraph who covered boxing for the paper at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

He said: “When I told them I was crocked they all started flapping their arms and making clucking noises. Even my wife suggested what I was actually suffering from was a lack of moral fibre.

“My eldest son, Joe, told me to ‘man up’, saying that even pregnant women and people dressed as pantomime horses run these things.

“Whilst I wouldn’t like to share a ring with Joe, I’d love to see him try and run 13 miles with a torn hamstring – it was a pretty stupid thing to do, even by my standards.”

Mike reached the finish line when it was getting dark and admitted he was “in desperate need of some pain-killers”.

The team has now visited the special needs unit to present a cheque to staff and pupils.