PORT Adelaide football coaches and fitness staff have been hitting the pavement this month, raising funds for the Cancer Council.

The team of 10 is participating in the 2015 March Charge; a running challenge which encourages cancer prevention through staying active and leading a healthier lifestyle.

Each member has set themselves a running goal, and aims to achieve it before the month-long challenge wraps up this week.

The club’s world-renowned fitness guru - high performance manager Darren Burgess - is heading the team, who have now collectively covered over 1,000kms of ground since March 1.

Thanks to the generosity of Port Adelaide members and supporters, they’ve also raised more than $1,400 in funds for cancer research, prevention, advocacy and support in Australia.

Burgess said the group jumped at the opportunity to sweat it out for a good cause.

“Just about everyone has somehow been touched by cancer – it’s so close to home for so many in the Port Adelaide community,” Burgess said.

“Our club has been linked with the Cancer Council for a long time and we jumped at the opportunity to support them while giving ourselves a hefty challenge.

“We’re proud to support an organisation which shares the values of our club, and is doing such life-changing work in our community.”

Even the big man himself - senior coach Ken Hinkley – joined in the challenge, pumping out 76kms so far.

After endless early starts and 1016 of kilometres of pavement covered so far, it all comes to an end on Tuesday – however, the team will still be taking donations until the eleventh hour.

This year in Australia it’s estimated that 38,000 cancer diagnoses could be avoided by prevention alone.

Research shows one third of cancers can be prevented through living a healthy lifestyle, including having a healthy diet, being physically active every day and maintaining a healthy body weight.

If you’d like to support Port Adelaide’s March Charge team, head to their online team page to donate.