IF you see a huge stockpot bobbing along among the runners at this year’s London Marathon you can be pretty sure Chris Wheeler is underneath it.
Running the 26-mile course in his full chef whites and stockpot costume, the father of two from Greenford is attempting to raise £10,000 for disadvantaged young people in London.
Mr Wheeler decided in a ‘moment of madness’ to enter a competition run by Capital FM to win a place in the marathon for Help a Capital Child charity.
He thought it was very unlikely he would be chosen from more than 1,000 entries for the competition.
But he is now only weeks away from the event on Sunday, April 21, when he will cover the streets of London in a chef’s hat, jacket and shorts – adapted from his trousers.
As the executive chef of the award-winning Humphry’s restaurant, which has three AA rosettes, the idea behind the costume is to celebrate his 10th anniversary at the five-star hotel in Stoke Park, Buckinghamshire.
It is not the first time he has gone in for cookery-themed running.
He said: “To raise awareness I go wherever I can in my chef garb now, including to pick my daughters up from school.
“Seven years ago I ran the marathon flipping a pancake all the way, so thought this year – with under seven weeks prep time and no visits in the past seven years to the gym – I’m doing it with a stockpot.”
Mr Wheeler ran a half marathon at the weekend as part of his preparation but had to rush back to the kitchen.
He said: “I had to finish it quickly so that I could get back to the restaurant in time to cook a Mother’s Day lunch for 130 people.”
Help a Capital Child, which supports children and young people affected by abuse, homelessness, disability, poverty and illness in and around London, is a cause for which Mr Wheeler has great enthusiasm.
He is also looking forward to running alongside Capital FM presenter, Pandora, for the Capital FM Breakfast team.
n Mr Wheeler has so far raised £2,500. To donate, visit http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/CapitalFM-ChrisWheeler2.
