Feilding student Jensen Alcock runs 24 hours to raise money for cancer

Jensen Alcock (left) and Dave Byrne complete another lap of Feilding High School's rugby fields.

As the sun went down behind the Feilding hills and Jack Frost threatened to visit, Jensen Alcock kept running.

The 17-year-old had started running at 8.30am last Friday and kept running for 24 hours. He ran 132.1km.

His marathon Run for a Cure was to raise money for Leukaemia and Blood Cancer NZ and followed taking part in Shave for a Cure two days earlier at his school, Feilding High.

It was the fifth year his head had been shaved for the popular fundraiser.

Jensen says it is a super worthy cause. "Cancer affects so many people in New Zealand and across the globe. We all know a family that has been affected, so it was a no brainer to help out and try to raise funds for those in need."

Jensen Alcock has his head shaved by Feilding High School head boy Luca Luoni.

When the Guardian visited about 5pm, he'd already run nearly 70km around his school's rugby fields. He was suffering some foot problems but was working through them.

Jensen says one difficult moment was about 7pm when the temperature dropped and his right foot was in a lot of pain, and nothing seemed to work.

"With it having been dark for a while and with a long night ahead it was tough to keep grinding out laps. Luckily, we found a strapping technique that reduced some of the pain and I was able to continue."

More people came out to cheer him for his last lap than he expected. "I was super relieved to be able to sit down and not have to worry about completing any more laps. By 9.30am I was home and fast asleep."

Head of languages Dave Byrne started running with Jensen about 2.30pm and continued through the night. Jensen says the teacher helped organise support, gear and food, told great stories to keep him entertained and gave expert advice.

"He knows what ultrarunning is like and kept me going through the lows while also running for hours on end himself. He completed nearly 80km and the run would not have been possible without him."

The threatened frost didn't arrive and it only started raining properly as they finished.

"I would like to thank everyone who came down and supported me, especially through the night. I would also like to thank everyone who donated, and to let people know that it isn't too late to get behind this amazing cause and donate."

You can donate here.