Welsh Jockey Alan Johns About To Raise Money By Going Way Beyond The Final Furlong

By Graham Thomas

Welsh jockey Alan Johns will saddle up for the Loch Ness Marathon on Sunday – less than 48 hours after he hopes to ride a monster winner at Worcester.

Johns will catch a flight from Bristol – and a fast car – to the Scottish Highlands in order to raise funds for Latch, the Welsh children’s cancer charity.

His motivation for his first crack at the 26-mile distance is to boost the £30,000-worth of funds that have already been raised for the charity by Welsh trainer Christian Williams and his family.

We count ourselves as very lucky to Sponsor Alan Johns – a quality jockey & a quality character.

It’s great to see him getting the exposure he deserves https://t.co/kxHUpyMhL5

— DragonBet (@DragonBetWales) April 16, 2023

Johns won’t be the only runner at Loch Ness more used to getting a ride than having to set the pace himself. Fellow jockey Conor Ring will also be running alongside Johns.

“Conor is a serious runner – he looks like he’s carved from marble – so he may go a bit faster than me,” adds Johns.

Johns says the pair of them decided to pick Loch Ness on a whim.

“I looked at a list of marathons and this one looked exciting and a bit different. We’ve all heard of Loch Ness from when we were kids – it looks absolutely beautiful and hopefully we might also catch sight of Nessie while we’re there!

“I’d love everyone who wants to support Betsy and the family to consider a donation.”

Details of Alan Johns’ marathon fundraising for LATCH, can be found here:

https://www.justgiving.com/page/alan-johns-1694333336339

Pick your jockey https://t.co/25mxNYJ6XJ

— Alan Johns (@alanjohnsy) September 22, 2023