Russell & Lisa Cartwright: The Leicester Marathon for LOROS

„I try and raise money each year for local charities and ATS has been most generous in the past.

Having ran a few Half Marathons previously, this year will see me running my first full marathon together with my wife who has been a great companion during the ever longer training runs.

I’m doing this to raise funds for a local Hospice Charity that have provided care to my uncle in his last days following a fight against cancer.

The Leicester Marathon 2019 for LOROS, the Leicestershire and Rutland Hospice took place on October 6th, 2019. Unfortunately due to the severe flash floods that hit most parts of Leicestershire (UK) last week, significant parts of the marathon route were swamped by up to 3 feet of water in places. The event organisers made the decision to cancel the marathon, which was a huge disappointment to all involved let alone the participants, but they  agreed to turn the event into a Virtual Marathon, with runners submitting their times and distances through various GPS activity tracking devices. We were advised not to attempt the original course due to the danger of mud, silt and debris and deep water still in places (see 1st photo). So I plotted an alternative course taking in a beautiful route from Matlock (in the Derbyshire Peak District) down the River Derwent heritage way all the way back via Derby to within a couple of miles of my home town, exactly 26.2 miles! (42.195 Km). I ran the new route together with my wife Lisa, but having to be independent and carry water and provisions made it probably tougher than the organised event on closed roads with manned drink stations. We both completed the full distance in just over 5 hours with just each other for company and a few hoots from passing cars as we were wearing our race vests and numbers.“

My charity donation page: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/lisa-russ-cartwright

By Russell Cartwright

About ATS Community:

ATS Community sponsors ATS employees who wish to make a personal effort to participate in activities for Charity in a sportive way. Find out more information on: ATS Community – Fund Raising page