This year’s five-strong Flora London Marathon team will tackle the 26-mile course on Sunday 18th April hoping to top last year’s fundraising total of £42,000 to further the Alliance’s campaigning work in 2004.

The Marathon team consists of:

Sam Butler: Sam chairs the campaign for the freedom to hunt. His resolve strengthens to see a solution, which benefits both a way of life and wildlife management. "No to unjust law. Yes to be free of political prejudice". This is Sam’s third consecutive London Marathon.

Josh Stratton: Josh is a farmer in Wiltshire and is also Master and huntsman of the Wiltshire and Infantry Beagles. Both he and his wife hunt and Josh has done so since he was 14yrs old. He has previously hunted the Marlborough and the Stoke Hill Beagles and also is a very keen shot.

Will Spencer: Will is a surveyor in the city working for Strutt and Parker, and lives on the family farm in Northamptonshire. Will has hunted since the age of four with the Pytchley Foxhounds of which his father has been master of for the past 14 years. Will also enjoys shooting and playing Polo and has a handicap of 1 Goal.

Charlie Watts: Charlie comes from Dorset where he has been Huntsman for the Cattistock Foxhounds for 15 seasons. He was previously whipper-in for the Quorn Hunt for 12 seasons. Charlie devotes his life to looking after the hounds and hunting, but also enjoys following horse racing whenever he can.

David Fitch-Peyton: David runs a large stud farm in Saudi Arabia producing over a hundred two year olds a year. He has been involved with racing and breeding all his life, in the USA, New Zealand and Canada, as well as in England. David enjoys foxhunting and beagling when he is in England and he hunts with the Blackmore & Sparkford Vale and the Cattistock, and beagles with The Park with whom he previously hunted during the mid '90s.

Alliance Chief Executive Simon Hart commented, "We are, as always, immensely grateful to the team for believing in our campaigning work enough to run this gruelling course. The money raised will be ploughed straight back into political lobbying and promotional initiatives which will keep rural issues at the forefront of opinion formers’ minds in 2004 and beyond.

The Alliance is the voice of the countryside, but it is only through the fundraising efforts of our members and supporters that we can remain so. Please sponsor our team – we are already proud of their commitment, so let’s make it count".