We’ve been particularly badly hit by London Marathon’s postponement, which last year raised £287,000 for the charity.
It’s been a difficult time. But many of our wonderful supporters have rallied around to help raise the funds we have lost.
Among them are Paddy Godfrey and Natalie Brown, who took on their own challenges on the weekend of what would have been the London Marathon. They share their stories here…
Paddy Godfrey
As part of the 2.6 Challenge, Paddy Godfrey organised his own personal sports event. The schedule was packed with activities, all based around the number 26. From golf to football, and cricket to Tiddlywinks, Paddy’s challenge was nothing if not varied. Here’s how his day unfolded:
- 9am: A 26-minute run round the local area
- 10am: Scored 26 goals on FIFA 20 on the Xbox
- 11am: Chipped 26 golf balls into a bucket (“I probably chipped around 150-200 balls in total”, admits Paddy)
- 12pm: Took a lunch break, eating 26 different items of food in a row. Out of a menu that included fish fingers, an apple, Weetabix, one single sultana and cheese, Paddy says eating a helping of HP sauce was the worst (“I challenge anyone to eat a spoonful without coughing!”) and clotted cream the best.
- 1pm: Got 26 tiddlywinks in a cup (“surprisingly, this went better than the golf in the end”)
- 2pm: Hit the crossbar 26 times with a football
- 3pm: Played basketball, and put the ball through the hoop 26 times
- 4pm: Aimed to bowl 26 cricket wickets. 150 balls later, this proved to be the most difficult of all challenges.
- 5pm: Went up and down the stairs 26 times
- 6pm: Finished off with a 26km static bike ride
As with all sporting events, no competitor can achieve glory without his or her important support team. In Paddy’s case, thanks go to his children for shooting a series of behind-the-scenes videos, acting as groundsman, coming up with a goal celebration for every crossbar hit in the football challenge, and making a certificate.
Paddy’s 2.6 sporting challenge has raised £1,240 for Muscular Dystrophy UK. He celebrated with a hard-earned roast dinner and a beer, with his family.
Natalie Brown
When Natalie Brown heard she would have to defer her 2020 place for London Marathon because of Covid-19 she decided that wasn’t going to stop her. She would complete the marathon anyway… in her garden.
Natalie, 38, had signed up for the iconic race to raise money for Muscular Dystrophy UK. She says:
I had done the normal training beforehand so decided to give it a go in my back garden, and just do as well as I could. I felt fine, despite having such a confined area, so just kept going.
Natalie created a ‘track’ in her garden, consisting of laps in alternating directions. She completed 2,500 in total, finding the course “pretty heavy going on the ankles”.
London Marathon is, of course, famous for its iconic landmarks. As Natalie says, a marathon in your garden can’t quite compare.
When I ran London, my two favourite landmarks were the ship and London Bridge. In my back garden marathon I had a few plants to admire, and a couple of sheds and a trampoline! I listened to music to get me through. I also did a virtual race and managed to get my medal. So it was all worth it.
She added:
It was very strange to run without the adrenaline gained from the crowds, but my husband and children were cheering me on so that really helped. I also thoroughly appreciated the gin and tonic my husband handed me at the end.
Incredibly, Natalie managed her best-ever time.
Normally I run with friends, so the shorter time was as a result of not needing to wait for people to catch up or for all those toilet break.
Natalie’s JustGiving page can be found here.