ULTRA-MARATHON runner Alan Beckford, eager to help children whose parents cannot afford adequate medical care, will take on a new challenge today in partnership with Angels of Love Foundation.

Beckford will run for three days, some 145 miles, from Negril in Westmoreland to Kingston in order to assist with life-saving treatment, health care, education and supporting services for vulnerable children.

"The basic format of the challenge is to run for four minutes and walk one minute, break for approximately 30 minutes every four to five hours, and the run should take between 36 to 44 hours," Beckford noted.

"All the costs associated with the run will be covered by me."

The Jamaica College old boy has been competing in ultra-marathons for the past five years, including two 100-mile runs and an Ironman triathlon which covers 140.6 miles.

A registered Jamaican, non-governmental, non-political, non-profitable, charitable organisation, Angels of Love Jamaica is run by a group of kind-hearted persons for disadvantaged, underprivileged and vulnerable children in Jamaica with physical, mental or emotional pain.

Angels of Love Jamaica founder Philip Liu noted: "We sponsor children who are continuously in and out of the hospital and are from low-income families.

"We financially support them by alleviating their medical expenses, and travelling costs to and from the hospital for check-ups, chemotherapy, x-rays, and tests."

On volunteer days, members from the foundation will visit and interact with children at the Bustamante Hospital for Children and those at the paediatric ward of the May Pen Hospital.