In this, our Making A Difference Special, we celebrate those runners who are doing the sport for more than a personal best, and in making their dreams come true they’re giving something back. By Christine Fieldhouse
“The total is £65,000 – around
£2,000 per event!” Jean Meredith, 65, is a hairdresser from Radstock, Somerset. When her grandson got leukaemia she was even more motivated to raise money for charity
“I’ve been running since I was 38 with my husband Roy, who’s 72. Over the years I’ve raised more than £65,000 for various charities. “My main charity now is CLIC Sargent, the charity for children and young people with cancer. We got involved when our grandson Ben, who’s now 21, was diagnosed with leukaemia. We’ve seen what a lot of good the charity has done. “I’ve done more than 50
marathons, including London almost 30 times. Nowadays I raise about £2,000 per event! “I get a buzz from raising
money for charity – if I could give all my earnings to charity, I would!” For more information about joining the CLIC Sargent Running Team visit www.
clicsargent.org.uk/running
“I’ve definitely got
the charity bug!” Andrew Dobie, 28, is a carer from Cambridge. He ran from London to Edinburgh (running a marathon a day!) and raised plenty of cash along the way!
“I suffered from a
combination of glandular fever and M.E. from 1999 to 2004 and ballooned to over 18 stone. When my grandad died after suffering numerous strokes in 2006, I vowed to do something in his honour and decided to raise money for the Stroke Association. I completed my first 10k in 2008 and raised £800. “After that I got the ‘charity
bug’ and decided to do something a bit more crazy. In summer 2009 I ran from London to Edinburgh, raising over £6,000. “This summer my friend Ben and I are cycling to 66 cities in the UK, covering 2,900 miles. I’m aiming to raise in excess of £10,000 for the Stroke Association and Up on Downs, a charity for families of children with Downs Syndrome.”
“I set myself a
target of £20,000” Victoria Gallimore, 28, is a recruitment consultant from Twickenham. Having experienced cancer at age 21 she now runs to raise money for Cancer Research
“I have set myself a target of raising £20,000 for Cancer Research. When I was 21, I had my own experience of cancer when a mole on my back was diagnosed as malignant. Luckily, it was removed and the cancer hadn’t spread. “Through running I’ve
found a way in which I can help others. I started running in 2007 with two 10k races and raised £1,500. “Last year, I helped to
organise a 6k run in Marble Hill Park in Twickenham. The event raised £16,000. “This year I got a London
Marathon place with Cancer Research. I’m aiming to raise £2,000 by the time I set off.” For more information on running events visit
www.cancerresearchuk. org/running.
“I’ve raised £3,000 – and I haven’t
even raced yet!” Lucy Burke, 25, is a public relations manager from Essex. She and her friend started fundraising back in November – and are running the Virgin London Marathon
“I’ve raised £3,000 and I haven’t even done a race yet! My best friend Rebecca Gagg and I decided in November last year that we’d run the London Marathon, even though I’d never run before. “I was lucky to get a charity place with Children with Leukaemia. We did our first training session in December and gradually built up our training and mileage. “We’ve raised £280 with a boot sale, and made £150 by packing bags for shoppers. We got a lot of sponsorship from Facebook too. “Knowing that we’ve raised all this money for charity has spurred us on. We’re going to do something big for charity every year – next year we might climb a mountain!”
RUNNING FREE n 23
PERFORMANCE
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