Events list

Edinburgh Marathon

27 Mai 2012

On the 27th May, Nicole, Denis, Patrick, Tom and Roxane will participate in the Edinburgh Marathon and will run under the colours of Help-for-Hope. Each has a personal challenge! For the first three, it is the marathon (42,195 km) and for the other two it is the half-marathon (21,1 km). For three of them it is also a big first! Nicole will run her very first marathon on the same day as her 45th birthday. Patrich will run his first marathon both as a personal goal and also as a sporting challenge. And Roxane will run her first half-marathon in the city where she was born 44 years ago! However all five of them, through their efforts, wish to sponsor the magnificent project of "Children's Future International" conducted by Help-for-Hope (link to the project).

Read more in the sponsoring letter below.

Nicole	Denis	Patrick	Tom	Roxane

Roxane's testimony - from a non-runner to a half-marathon in one year

"On the 26th of May, Edinburgh was ready for us, the sun was out (the heat too) and the whole city was vibrating to the rhythm of the Edinburgh Marathon Festival !

When we picked up our bibs, the excitement already went up a notch! Here we all were, the five of us, a day before othe race, happy and more than ready to go.

I could have never imagined, a year ago when I started jogging, that I would be running a half-marathon at the age of 44. Being involved in Help-for-Hope, running somehow then seemed like something natural to do…but it’s not! My first few months of training were really difficult, I could not breathe properly, I had pain on the side and my muscles were hurting. It took great perseverance to reach the 10K mark, then the 18K…

And now, here I am today, on the starting line for my first half marathon.

Running is an individual sport but when you stand there surrounded by 7000 people each facing their own challenge, you somehow feel linked. The atmosphere is fantastic and provides you with a lot of energy.

It was simply incredible for me to be in the city where I was born, running with my father and friends, in beautiful scenery (the running path was near the sea) facing a new goal and being carried along by the atmosphere, my friends, family, sponsors and the young people in Cambodia that I was running for.

But I was not the only one running for a cause. I could see all around me people with t-shirts saying “run for cancer”, “Cystic fibrosis”, “Parkinson”, “children in need”… and that’s what makes all the difference. All that effort, all that sweat, put into HOPE and CARING! It felt like I was taking part in a long chain of humanity…

I enjoyed every minute of it and passed, the finish line, hand in hand with my 68 year old father, in 2h12”. Magic!

Nicole and Patrick finished their very first full marathon in 5:04’ and 5:00'. Denis, a veteran in 3:45’. All were exhausted (the heat did not help), but happy as ever. Our warm and hearty congratulations go to all three. They went all the way, it was hard but they all reached their goal.

Nicole wrote her testimony in French on her blog (please click and read the whole story)

Here is a little part of it, her impressions just after the finish line :

"Mon chrono m'annonce 5 heures et 4 minutes, un résultat qui me ravit. Oser un marathon c'est fou. Courir durant autant d'heures c'est dingue mais réussir à frôler mon objectif, c'est un capital de bonheur indescriptible ! Plus jamais je ne serai la même personne, ce marathon m'a transformée. J'ai tant appris sur moi-même. Je m'avance en boitillant devant une bénévole qui s'apprête à déposer une médaille autour de mon cou. C'est mon plus bel anniversaire.
Je retrouve mon Denis qui a terminé sa course en 3h45 et Patrick qui a décroché son premier marathon en 5 heures malgré un genou douloureux. Nos visages sont rayonnants ! Les mots peinent à venir pour décrire tout ce qui s'est vécu. Les pensées sont euphoriques mais encore anesthésiées. Cet étrange cocktail nous demandera quelques minutes pour remettre nos idées en place et enfin nous raconter notre aventure : 42,195 km au bout des pattes !

Nous sommes rentrés à Genève avec une belle médaille dans la valise et des étoiles de bonheur dans les yeux !"

Finally, I do not intend to stop here so join me for my next race at the Fyne Terra Marathon on the 23^d of May! Help-for-Hope Team will be largely represented.
Cheers,

Roxane