By Gary Anderson

September 8 - Richard Whitehead wants fellow Richards ti come out and support him on his 1000 mile charity runBritain's Paralympic champion Richard Whitehead has called on fellow Richard's around the country to come out and run with him as he continues his epic journey from John O'Groats to Lands End in aid of charity.

The 200 metres London 2012 gold medallist has reached the halfway stage of his near 1,000 mile trek from the north of Scotland to the southern tip of England, and to celebrate his achievement, sponsors Virgin Media have crowned him as the company' s "accessibility ambassador".

Whitehead, who joins Jamaica's six-time Olympic sprint champion Usain Bolt, and Britain's double Olympic champion Mo Farah and Beijing 2008 gold medallist Christine Ohuruogu as Virgin Media ambassadors, began his 40 marathons in 40 days journey on August 13 and is aiming to arrive in Lands End on September 23.

"I'm delighted Richard has joined team Virgin Media and that we have the privilege of being part of his epic challenge," said Virgin founder Richard Branson.

"As a fellow Richard I want to call on all other Richards to unite and do their bit by joining Richard on the run."

Paralympic champion Whitehead began his 40 marthons in 40 days trek in John O'Groats on August 13Paralympic champion Whitehead began his 40 marthons in 40 days trek in John O'Groats on August 13

























The 37-year-old from Nottingham has reached his hometown this weekend, and has two weeks of running to go before he completes his charity run in which he is aiming to raise £1million ($1.56 million/€1.19 million) for cancer charity Sarcoma UK and disability charity Scope.

To help him get over the final stretch, the man who holds the double amputee world records for both the full and half marathon, wants help from fellow Richards by coming out on the road with him, making a donation online or by text - or to support him on social media by visiting his Facebook page or using the #richruns on Twitter.

"It's fantastic for a Paralympian to be recognised alongside the likes of Mo, Usain and Christine by a big sponsor like Virgin Media and it shows that anyone can live a life without limits," said Whitehead.

"Having the support of Sir Richard Branson when we announced the run was amazing and I want to now get as many other Richards as possible to get in touch and either come and see me on the road, make a donation or show their support on Twitter or Facebook."

Richard Whitehead's route from the north of Scotland to the southern tip of EnglandRichard Whitehead's route from the north of Scotland to the southern tip of England























































Earlier this week, Virgin Media turned Whitehead's support car into his very own mobile cinema complete with a 50 inch plasma television screen and Sony headphones, on which the Paralympian watches his favourite film Chariots of Fire to give him the inspiration to keep going when times are tough.

"Having the opportunity to work with Richard, a Paralympic gold medallist is an inspiring experience for all of the team at Virgin Media," said head of brand for good at Virgin Media, Ernestina Hall.

"Richard is passionate that everyone has the opportunity to live life without limits.

"We believe that connecting people to the digital world can enable them to discover and achieve their own goals.

"And who knows, maybe we can even convince our very own Richard here at Virgin Media to take part."

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