Mikey continued – “Thanks so much to everyone who sponsored me. As the dressing up idea was so successful, I need to start thinking of an even better costume for the London Marathon next April!” Of course our Mikey wasn’t the only one who did it in fancy dress – there were some great costumes and fundraisers taking part including this great bunch (pictured) from Alex’s Angels, who dressed up to raise cash in memory of their mate and local lad Alex McGuinness. The Voyager school student sadly died earlier this year of leukaemia aged just 18 years-old and his friends have formed the fundraising group to raise cash for East Anglian Childrens Hospice (EACH) and Children with Leukaemia.
WHAT A GREAT (EASTERN) RUN! ESP’s Man About Town columnist Pep Cipriano and ESP writer Mikey Clarke are still nursing their blisters after taking part in the Great Eastern Run… along with thousands of others who braved the race or the fun run. Mikey did his bit for charity and ran as… Wonder Woman! He promised friends that if he reached over £500 in sponsorship money, he’d hire the costume and run the entire race in the dress. Mikey chose this amount, as he didn’t think he’d quite reach the target, and therefore not have to do the forfeit. However, he quickly received a generous donation from David Dixon of Personnel Matters for the full £500! Mikey told ESP – “Five hundred pounds is a lot of money, so I genuinely wasn’t expecting to have to run in the costume. When I saw www.es p m ag .co.u k ( No ve mbe r )
His mum Raena told ESP – “It’s fantastic Alex’s friends are doing this. He was the glue that held them all together, everyone would gather at our house before they went out – and now it’s like they’re still together because of him even though he’s gone. “My experience with Alex totally changed my view of what hospices are all about – I just thought they were places people went to die but they’re so supportive, even now, which has been fantastic. They get very little funding so fundraising’s so important and sponsorship for Alex’s Angels is still coming in.” In the main race Kenyan athlete Edwin Kipyego stormed across the finish line in 62 minutes 16 seconds to set a new course record while the first local man home was Glen Watts from March who crossed the finish line in 66 minutes 51 seconds. Race director Stuart Hamilton said – "We had a record breaking number of runners sign up this year, so we knew we were in for a special day.
how awful I looked I almost regretted making the pact, but then I thought about what a great cause the money is going to. And to be honest, hearing the community shout things like ‘you can do it Wonder Woman’ helped me complete the run.”
"Once again the number of people registering to run has increased, which proves that the Perkins Great Eastern Run is now established as the greatest run in the Eastern region. We are very proud to have attracted some of the UK's most elite athletes this year. In addition I am very pleased that so many ordinary members of the community have turned out to run, whether it was for charity or simply for their own personal achievement."
He finished the run in just over two and a half hours, and raised nearly £700 in total for Sue Ryder Care, while poor Pep hobbled with injuries and had to walk the last few miles (see p.13).
Plans are already under way for the 2011 run and the principal sponsors have pledged funding to support the race for another five years. Good stuff – we can’t wait! Come on Pep get back in training… you can’t be beaten by Wonder Woman for a second year!