Sally’s marathon challenge for St John Ambulance

Telecoms & Financial Services April 16 2019

In just 12 days time CWU national officer Sally Bridge will be pounding the streets of the capital intent on proving that months of hard training for the London Marathon will have done what it takes to enable her to complete the gruelling 26.2-mile route.

But if there’s just two things that will keep her going come rain or shine on Sunday April 28, Sally stresses it will be the support of well-wishers from across the CWU and her determination to make good her fundraising promise to St John’s Ambulance.

Already the charity stands to receive more than £1,575 on account of sponsorship pledges already secured, but Sally is hoping a late surge of donations will help her reach her fundraising target of £2,000, of which she is currently 22 per cent short.

“I can’t quite believe that I’m actually going to do this at 59-years-old,” stresses Sally, “but I’ve trained as hard as I can and will give it my best shot.”

Talking on the London Marathon is, Sally insists, a ‘now or never’ opportunity – because having secured a highly sought after place as a charity runner in the 2018 marathon, but then being forced to pull out because of a serious running injury, she cannot defer again.

The T&FS assistant secretary is the first to admit she’s an “unlikely” Marathon participant, having only started running in her late 40s and only really becoming serious about the sport in the last six years.

Shortly before the injury that forced her to pull out of last year’s marathon Sally ran the Brighton Marathon but nearly crashed out after 18 miles having got her pacing wrong.

“I wasn’t as fit as I should have been due to a chest infection and it was really hot – and it was seeing first hand the way that St John Ambulance helped people who were in distress and dehydrated that made me decide to support that charity if I ever got the opportunity to run the London Marathon,” Sally explains.

“Everyone kind of takes them for granted, but they’re just invaluable – unsung heroes who selflessly turn out in force at these events to keep people safe.”

This time Sally insists she will be carefully monitoring her pace, attempting to keep up a steady 11 minute mile to ensure she has the energy in reserve to complete what Marathon runners widely regards as the last ‘killer 6.2 miles’ – and she’s keeping her fingers crossed for a dry, cool, windless and ideally cloudy day!

“Remember I’m not like Mo Farah for whom it will all be done and dusted in two hours or so – I’ve got at least another three hours to go after he crosses the finishing line,” Sally quips.

Unlike Mo, however, Sally has to head to CWU Annual Conference in Bournemouth the day after the Marathon – and she’s hoping she doesn’t have too much of a struggle with stiffness when rising to the rostrum for her first major debate at 11am on Tuesday April 30.

Sally concludes: “However it goes I’d just like to thank everyone who has already sponsored me, and anyone else who’s prompted to make a donation, however small, to a very worthy cause on account of reading this article.

To sponsor Sally visit https://mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/sallybridge1

Anyone wanting to track her progress on the big day can do so by downloading the London Marathon App (see below) and keying in her runners’ number, which is 45443.

App store http://bit.ly/VMLMApp2019  Android http://bit.ly/VMLMAppAnd2019