ONE thousand miles in 30 hours was the target. The result was more than £40,000 for Macmillan Cancer Relief.

The third annual Macmillan 4x4 Challenge saw 42 teams from around the country converge on the Hereford Toyota garage at dawn on Saturday March 6, ready for the start of this year's event.

The marathon drive combined a magical mystery tour as drivers followed clues to places bearing international names with several testing off-road stages.

The 4x4 challenge is the brainchild of Selwyn Kendrick of Clyro, technical expert and Joe Bain, course designer, and masterminded by Peter Rowland, Macmillan's Herefordshire county organiser.

The overall winner of the event was the very-nearly-local Jamie Burgins of Fronwen Garage, Llandrindod Wells. Jamie, at 26, is the youngest winner yet, raising £2,220.

In addition to the 15 trophies handed out at Sunday evening's dinner was one that came as a big surprise to Peter Rowland, who was presented with an award for 'Outstanding Achievement'.

"I was very grateful and very touched," says Peter. "But I do this because I love it."

Enthusiastic supporters of the challenge, Hereford Toyota, who provide a perfect starting point for the event, also put up two teams, one driven by director Giles Lowther, the other by technician Sean James.

"I lost 500 points because my camera didn't work," says Giles. "But it's not about the winning. It is just fantastic fun and this year was even better than last year. We'll certainly be supporting the Challenge again."

Eleven entries have already been received for next year's event, including a Royal Navy bomb disposal team driving a 6x6 Pinzgauer.

For more information or to register for the 2005 4x4 Mac Challenge, contact Peter Rowland on 01981 252954.

Another Herefordshire man rising to the Macmillan challenge is Mark Sandford, an MoD military policeman serving at Credenhill, who will be running his third marathon for the charity.

"Both my mother and my grandmother have had cancer," says Mark. "Having seen how much my grandmother was helped by Macmillan made it the obvious charity to run for."

Mark is hoping to raise his performance while he raises funds - he's looking to beat last year's three hours and 31 minutes and the £1,000 barrier.

For further information about fundraising for the Macmillan Nurses Appeal, contact Ron Davies on 01432 343030.