Sam Twiston-Davies, the Grade 1-winning jockey, will participate in this year’s Run Cheltenham half-marathon on Sunday to raise funds for the cancer care charity Maggie’s. The 13.1-mile event starts and finishes at Cheltenham Racecourse, a venue familiar to Twiston-Davies from his career in horse racing.

Although new to running long distances, Twiston-Davies expressed enthusiasm about taking part on foot. “I’ve never run a half-marathon before so it is something a bit different,” he said. “It will be great to see a different side to the racecourse being on foot.” He highlighted the local connection of Maggie’s, which operates a centre near the Cheltenham track, describing the charity as “a great cause to do it for.” Twiston-Davies added that while he is not aiming to be competitive, completing the race would be an achievement in itself.

This season, Twiston-Davies is taking on a more prominent role with trainer Paul Nicholls following the departure of Harry Cobden, who left in May to become the retained rider for owner JP McManus. Twiston-Davies said he has recently had rides on some of Nicholls’s horses, including Rubaud and Quebecois, though he awaits opportunities with others such as Caldwell Potter. “I’ll be there when I’m needed to be on them,” he commented. “Paul has some lovely horses coming through. It is a great position to be in.”

Twiston-Davies plans to continue his preparations at Cheltenham ahead of the half-marathon and invites supporters to sponsor his run to benefit Maggie’s charity.