Caroline from Plymouth is striding towards her goal of completing 100 marathons in 2018 with her efforts raising funds for The Donkey Sanctuary.
Derriford resident Caroline, has always had a love of donkeys and chose to support the charity for the latter part of her challenge after hearing about the work of The Donkey Sanctuary from a friend.
Caroline and her husband Neil are running coaches with Storm Plymouth, one of the largest running clubs in the South West and fit their marathons in at weekends between the weekly club runs.
The searing summer temperatures have added their own challenges to her quest. Caroline’s most challenging marathon to date was in early July at the Cider Frolic 12 hour event in Dorset. Caroline recalls: “The heat was virtually unbearable, it was up to 35 degrees with hardly any shade at all. We were running around cornfields, having to complete seven laps to do a marathon.”
Caroline continued: “I was feeling physically sick from the heat and was going to pull out after five laps as I just didn’t have the energy to carry on. It eventually took me nine hours to complete and I finished the race in tears, totally exhausted.”
Justin Wylie, head of fundraising at The Donkey Sanctuary says: “‘To do one marathon is a terrific achievement but to do 100 – wow! What can we say? Caroline is an amazing supporter and the fact she is running for The Donkey Sanctuary is simply overwhelming! We really want to shout from the rooftops about her achievements and hopefully inspire others to support the charity.”
Mum of two Caroline is well on the way to her completing her challenge and is nearing her 90th marathon. She is due to complete her 100th marathon in the shadow of the white cliffs of Dover on 25 November. The event, called the Clown Challenge, encourages runners to don fancy dress and looks to be a colourful end to Caroline’s 2,620 mile epic quest.
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