Water charity runner tops up his total to £35,000

A RUNNER from Charvil has now raised more than £35,000 for WaterAid after completing the virtual London Marathon.

Tom Hutchinson spent three months training for the 40th annual event in April only for it to be cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Instead the organisers asked the 40,000-plus entrants to run their own marathons on Sunday, October 4, so their charities still benefited.

Mr Hutchinson, 33, ran three different routes from Charvil and back to make up the required distance of 26.2 miles in four hours and 18 minutes.

This was much faster than when he completed the actual London Marathon four years ago in a time of five hours and 38 seconds, although he did break a toe on that occasion.

Mr Hutchinson, an operations manager at Thames Water, lives with his wife Hana, 33, who works in marketing, and their children, Isaac, six, and four-year-old Imogen.

He first heard about the charity, which helps to provide safe drinking water to people in developing countries, through work.

He said: “I’ve done a number of fundraising events for them over the years because I appreciate what an amazing job they do.

“With what I do, I really appreciate that clean drinking water and sanitation can be the difference between life and death.

“They say that £30 can be the difference between a newborn baby living and dying. When you think about it like that, it is really quite scary and brings it home.” Mr Hutchinson said he was disappointed that the marathon was cancelled but understood the reason why and was excited to be involved in the first ever virtual version.

“It was a great chance to get out and do some running in the summer and explore some new routes around Sonning,” he said.

For the first stage of his run he completed 10 miles from Charvil and Winnersh and back.

He then ran towards Caversham and followed the River Thames through Sonning before returning to Charvil. The final leg was from Charvil to Twyford and back.

Mr Hutchinson said: “I went out at 7.30am and it was absolutely chucking it down. The second stage through Sonning was really muddy and slippery — it was pretty horrific in all honesty.”

He was able to refuel after each of the first two legs.

“Normally when you are on a run, you have support people on the route giving you food and drink and I knew that wasn’t possible this time,” said Mr Hutchinson.

“There was some really nice support locally. I had my runner’s number and I think people were quite tuned into the fact that people were doing the marathon that day.

“I passed about 15 other runners on the day and we all gave each other encouragement. It was not the same as the thousands of people that you get in London but it was still really nice.

“It is very fulfilling and absolutely worth it when you finish. You look back with a lot of pride.”

Mr Hutchinson has raised £1,100, adding to the £2,000 he raised by running the London Marathon in 2016 wih the rest of the money coming from various team-building and fundraising events at work.

He also took part in the Reading Half Marathon in 2015 and the Thames Path Challenge, a 100km walk from Putney to Henley, in 2017 for other charities.

He has registered to take part in next year’s London Marathon.

To make a donation, visit
justgiving.com/fundraising/tomh2020

Meanwhile, a teacher from the Piggott School in Wargrave also took part in the virtual marathon. Samantha Foster, 49, of Strathmore Drive, Charvil, was not running for charity but in June she collected £400 for the NHS when she ran 280km in 28 days.

This was the perfect preparation for the marathon and helped her achieve a time of three hours and 51 minutes as she ran through Charvil, Twyford, Knowl Hill and Ruscombe in two 17km routes to make up the distance.

Miss Foster said: “I usually run by the river but I just wanted to be somewhere more sensible and to stick to main roads in case I had any difficulties.

“I saw the weather forecast and there was no let-up so I thought I just had to get out there and do it.

“Setting off was a chore but a few kilometres in I thought it was going well and there was no way I wasn’t going to see it through.

“It wasn’t pleasant but there were a few other runners and we would give each other a clap.

“I was absolutely elated at the end of it — and soaking too.”

Miss Foster is the head of year 8 at the Piggott School and teaches art and photography.

She lives with her partner Adrian, 52, who works in IT, and has 17-year-old twin daughters, Poppy and Rosie.

She said: “I’ve always done a bit of running and have a love-hate relationship with it. Since lockdown, I’ve found that getting outside has really helped my mental health.

“I’ve entered the ballot for the London Marathon again for next year. It would be brilliant to do the real thing, particularly in my 50th year.”