The best ideas are born while shooting the breeze with mates on a road trip – or a journey back from a school outing in this case.

It was while doing just this that Dan Distefano turned to his three friends Dale Woodend, Will Monredondo and Aleks Blasiak, and asked: “Are you boys down to run a marathon?”.

The four, all sixth form students at All Hallows School and Sixth Form College, began training hard and on October 25 set off from All Hallows in Weybourne Road and followed a route which had been mapped out by a parent at the school.

It took them into Aldershot, then through Farnham, along West Street to the Coxbridge roundabout and to Alice Holt where they did two laps around the forest.

Here they were joined by several teachers who ran around Alice Holt with them but then let the students continue alone back into Farnham, all the way to All Hallows, the whole route taking them a little over five hours.

The students undertook the run not just for the fun of it, but to raise money for Phyllis Tuckwell Hospice, Brain Tumour Research and Action Aid, the three charities which had been chosen for All Hallows Week, formerly called Rag Week.

Aleks said: “These charities all have one thing in common, helping those in need. Whether It’s the people receiving end-of-life care from Phyllis Tuckwell, refugees receiving crucial aid from Action Aid, or the lifesaving research done by Brain Tumours UK, it’s all with the goal of providing for those who are in need.”

The four hope to raise £2,600 and at the last count were on £2,287. Other events at the school and college have also been attracting the funds and the total so far has broken the £10,000 barrier.