A GROUP of eight friends have completed a 90km to raise money for Alzheimer’s.

The walkers from the Bursledon area walked from Brighton Pier to The Linden Tree pub in Bursledon, starting on Saturday night and finishing about 23 hours later.

The group did the walk to raise money for the Alzheimer’s Society, and as it stands, have raised over £8,000 after originally setting themselves a target of £5,000.

Mathew Camfield, one of the walkers spoke of the experience saying: “It was pretty brutal, walking through the night.

“Miles 20 to 30 were the toughest for everyone because that was probably between the hours of three and six in the morning.”

The group of walkers were supported by Mathew’s dad and sister, Gary and Katy Camfield, who followed in a bus and set up 10 mile intervals to give them a break and a chance to recharge.

Mathew added: “All of us have said we wouldn’t be able to do it without them.

“I think we were all exhausted, but it wasn’t really spoken about between us, we were just focussed on getting to the next interval.”

The walkers were greeted at the finish line by a group of family and friends that had come out to congratulate them.

Mathew said: “It was all worth it, when we walked round the corner to The Linden Tree pub and we saw everyone waiting there and there was a huge cheer, I think we all got a little bit emotional.

“They put on food for us when we got there and we all got given a free pint but I think between us we probably drank about a quarter each because that was the last thing we wanted at that point.

“All the love we were getting on social media yesterday made it all worth it.

“So many people saying how good it is and how much difference it is going to make to the Alzheimer’s Society.”

Now they have recovered, Mathew says they have been talking about doing another 100km walk this time next year.

“Seeing the donations rolling in as we were walking kept us going.

“Now the pain has subsided a little bit, we have all realised how much we’ve raised and we’re all keen for something similar again.”

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