Longboard charity trekkers pay tribute to friendly Marlborough

Five longboarders who rode from London to Cardiff in a bid to raise £10,000 for charity have paid tribute to the hospitality of the people of Marlborough – one of their official staging posts.

The sportsmen were riding longboards – which are skateboards with a longer deck and bigger wheels, and are designed for transport, as opposed to their shorter stunt-oriented cousins – along the A4 in a gruelling 176-mile challenge made tougher by the fact that they carried all their kit on their backs.

Setting off from London last Friday, Steve Matthews, Matthew Hernon, Will Aldington, Anthony Pierce and James Jones finally arrived in Cardiff on Monday (August 20).

And during their scheduled overnight stop in Marlborough they took time to visit the hipped mini ramp, wave to kicker, quarterpipes, tombstone, jumpbox and rollover of the town’s skate park – designed by professional skateboarder Mike Foreman and considered to be one of the best in the UK.

Steve told Marlborough News Online this week: “We camped at Savernake, which was lovely, and the following morning we were greeted by some really nice people in the town, including a group of ladies who bought us bacon rolls from the Food Gallery.

“Marlborough is a great town and the people were very hospitable, I’m glad we chose to stop here. We were even given £40 in cash from lots of random passers by.”

“We completed the 176 miles in four days, finally reaching the millennium stadium at 6.30pm on Monday evening 

“We’re all covered in blisters and ache like you wouldn’t believe. There are some big uphills past Marlborough, although I did reach 36mph a few miles out on a massive downhill section, a new personal best.

“The fundraising has nearly reached £5,000, which is amazing, and we were even mentioned on the Chris Evans’ breakfast show on Radio 2 yesterday.

“Turns out we’re the first longboarders to ever do the London to Cardiff: the fulfilment far outweighs the pain!”

Anyone who wants to add to the team’s tally for Macmillan Cancer Support can donate at www.justgiving.com/London-Cardiff-Longboard