On an extraordinarily sunny April weekend, six intrepid Over The Wall runners and their supporters made their way down to Brighton to take on the UK’s second biggest marathon. Whilst the race posters declared that by Sunday evening they would be #BrightonHeroes , our team were going to be better than that. They were going to be Over The Wall Superheroes – putting themselves through 26.1 miles of tarmacked hills to support children with life limiting illnesses.
I had the pleasure of catching up with three of the runners for an ice-cream and pre-race banana on Saturday. Everyone seemed excited to be there, the race had finally arrived and the months of blisters would soon be over. All those early morning runs in the rain were finally going to be worth it.
It was great to hear how everyone had got involved in the charity – one camp volunteer, one previous Brighton Marathoner and one local friend of the charity, the one thing they all had in common was a passion for helping Over The Wall campers gain confidence and self esteem and achieve more than they ever thought possible. Hearing their stories made me all the more proud to be involved in such a great charity.
Sunday dawned with blazing sunlight even at 8am, as thousands of runners gathered in Preston Park. Tension was high and the atmosphere was bubbling as the 10k set off and the starting pens began to fill. Top athletes performed complicated stretches and intricate warm up movements, whilst a large badger ambled around, trying to keep cool in their furry costume.
And then they were off!! The streets of Brighton were soon teeming with runners and supporters, the crowds a multicolour swirl of different charity vests and banners, Over The Wall standing out in bold orange. Many supporters held up placards to encourage runners on:
Press here to power up!
If Trump can run then so can you
If it was easy I would do it!
We are incredibly proud that every single Over The Wall runner crossed the finish line at the end of the day and together, they have raised over £2,200 for Over The Wall. That’s enough to send one seriously ill child on camp, with money left over to support the training and recruitment of around 20 new camp volunteers.
This is a fantastic achievement and we wish them all a speedy recovery from their sore legs and sunburn!
