Jon Brady v David Buchanan: Cobblers duo set for half marathon challenge in NHS fundraiser

Bragging rights between two close friends will be on offer this weekend when current U18s boss Jon Brady takes on Cobblers' former captain David Buchanan in a half marathon.

The two, who have been keen to stay fit during the recent lockdown, will run the 21 kilometres at opposite ends of the country on Saturday morning, all in the name of raising important funds for the NHS.

Brady and Buchanan became close friends during their three years together at the Cobblers and they kept in touch following the defender's move to Chesterfield last summer.

Now, with the country entering its fifth week of lockdown, the pair will come face-to-face - not literally - on Saturday when they both run a half marathon for the first time ever.

The race will start at 9am sharp with Brady, who lives in Irchester, set to run through Farndish, past Santapod Raceway, through Wymington and into Rushden. Buchanan, meanwhile, has plotted out a half marathon course back home in Manchester.

Thanks to the wonders of modern technology, the two hope to stay in touch during the race and record live videos on social media. If recent form is anything to go by, it should be a close run thing.

"I think my course is a little bit hillier than his but our times are extremely similar," says Brady. "I ran my further ever distance of 17k in 1.18.28hrs earlier and David did 17.71k in 1.20.40hrs.

"I worked out I'm probably a minute or so behind him at the moment. It should be a good race!"

Asked how it all came about, Brady explains: "It was purely off the cuff. I saw that David had done 17k and I've really got into running recently.

"I don't like running at all but we both resonate with what it does for you mentally because you want to give up most of the way around but you keep driving and you keep pushing yourself and you don't give in.

"The furthest I had ever done was 16.1k but I've been doing three 10k runs a week and my times have been tumbling down so I fancied a little challenge with David over half marathon distance.

"I've never done it before and I'd love to do it against someone because that would push me. It's just about having some fun whilst raising a bit of money for a good cause."

Whilst there will no doubt be a competitive edge, the main aim of Saturday's challenge is to raise money for the NHS. You can donate by going to the Just Giving page here - https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/backofthenetfc-soccerschools - or through the link on their twitter profiles - @_Buchs and @backofthenetfc1.