- Group of Islanders paricipating in London Marathon in aid of Jersey Hospice
- The five will raise at least £2,500 each
- Read interviews with them all below
FIVE Islanders will be pounding the streets of London a week today in aid of Jersey Hospice Care.
The five have all agreed to raise a minimum of £2,500 for the charity in return for places in the Virgin Money London Marathon.
The five – Neil Bassford, Mary-Lou Binet, Steve Lehan-Port, Jade McKain and Romany Perchard – are all looking forward to the atmosphere on the day and, of course, crossing the finishing line.
Anyone wishing to sponsor the runners can do so here.
We spoke to the five runners:
NEIL BASSFORD
Neil Bassford, a 34-year-old plasterer, who lives in St Helier, discovered the hard way what training for the marathon would mean, having taken up the sport only in January when he learned that he had a place.
‘Not one to do things by half, I set off on my first run to find out how far I could actually run,’ he said. ‘Ten miles later and with an inability to walk for two days, I was left knowing in no uncertain terms just how tough this was going to be.’
After continuing with his training, however, he is now hoping for a time of under 4 hr 30 min.
His main reason for choosing Jersey Hospice as his charity is that he has lost three friends to cancer over the past few years.
‘All of their families expressed how grateful they were for the care and compassion their loved ones received while at the hospice and what a fantastic job the staff do. So if I can give just a little bit back on their behalf it would make me immensely proud,’ he said.
MARY-LOU BINET
Jersey Hospice Care is a charity close to the heart of Mary-Lou Binet and her family because of the support it gave when her sister, Alison, died of cancer 23 years ago.
The 51-year-old mother of four – Hollie (24), Jordan (22), Brad (21) and Luke (20) – works in private banking and decided to take on the challenge after completing the Brighton Marathon last year with two friends.
‘I’ve always been involved with sport but when I had my children, that was very much put on hold,’ she said. ‘I’ve run the relay marathon the last few years with my work colleagues, which has resulted in us doing a couple of 10ks and half-marathons.’
Mary-Lou, who lives in St Peter, ran the Brighton marathon on behalf of Jersey Teenage cancer Trust and then decided to go for London. ‘The atmosphere is supposed to be amazing and I think it’s the marathon everyone wants to run,’ she said. ‘I am so lucky to have a place and intend to enjoy every minute. I think training is going OK and I hope to finish in around 4 hours 25 minutes.’
STEVE LEHAN-PORT
Steve Lehan-Port has been hooked on distance running since a colleague took him on a 13-mile run one evening about five years ago.
The 31-year-old, who is employed as a filing/administration clerk and lives at First Tower, has since run the Standard Chartered Jersey Marathon three times, several other charity marathons and the 48.1-mile Round the Rock race twice.
‘I also completed a Mountain Marathon in Italy last year,’ he said. ‘I wanted to run London as it is the pinnacle for any runner and the flatness of the course gives me a good opportunity to beat my personal best.
‘My PB is 3 hr 7 min and I aim to break the three-hour barrier in London.’
He said that training was going well and he and his training partner had been running up to 55 miles per week in preparation for the big day.
He added that the charity was one he wanted to support because almost everyone he knew had either a friend or family member that had been looked after by the hospice.
‘Fundraising is going well thanks to help from my parents and my work, as well as many friends and family members,’ he said.
JADE McKAIN
It will be the second London Marathon for Jade McKain, a 23-year-old junior trust administrator at First Names Group, who lives with her parents and younger brother in St Brelade.
‘I wrote a bucket list a few years ago and to run the London Marathon was on it.
‘I enjoyed it that much I am doing it again,’ she said. ‘Training is going well and I am hoping for a sub 4:30 time.
‘I will certainly meet my fundraising target with the support of my amazing family, friends and colleagues.’
That support will continue on the day, as her parents are travelling to London to cheer her on. Two of her colleagues are also doing challenges this year for Jersey Hospice Care, and between them they are hoping to raise £13,000, which is the cost of running Hospice for one day.
‘I wanted to raise money for Jersey Hospice Care because it’s a local charity whose work is first class and has touched many people I have known,’ she added.
ROMANY PERCHARD
Romany Perchard enjoyed running the Standard Chartered Jersey Marathon so much last year that she kept up the training and decided to enter the London event.
The 44-year-old took up running seven or eight years ago only because of an accident which resulted in back surgery and prevented her from doing sitting-based exercise, including horse-riding.
She has since run in several Jersey Marathon relay events and, back to full fitness, she decided to tackle the full distance, which she completed in 4 hr 40 min. Now, as well as raising money for Jersey Hospice, she is hoping to achieve a time of around 4:30.
‘Training has gone well, despite the weather and being afraid of the dark,’ she said. ‘I’m lucky, as Perry my dog is my running partner. Fingers crossed I’ll finish in four and a half hours.
Romany, who lives with husband Stuart in St John, works at Mange Tout, and they, customers and her husband have all been supportive, which has meant that she has reached the fundraising target.
‘I chose to raise money for Jersey Hospice Care because it is a great cause that we have all been touched by,’ she added.
