Parents walk 100km in 24 hours for good causes

SEVEN people from Henley walked 100km in just over 24 hours to raise money for their children’s school.

Emily Burton, Kerry and Richard Thompson, Orlando Taylor, Mark Gibbon, Ali Jean-Jean and Morag McLaren took part in the Thames Valley Ultra Challenge.

They trekked from Putney in London to Henley, starting at 8.20am on Saturday and going through Richmond, Hampton Court, Runnymede and Windsor before finishing between 8.30am and 10am on Sunday.

The challenge was in aid of Sacred Heart Primary School, where they all have children, as well as 1st Henley Scouts and the Henley food bank run by Nomad.

A total of 815 people signed up for the 100km but only 550 finished while more than 5,000 completed either 25km or 50km.

The friends, who are all in their forties, started walking together more than a year ago in support of Ms Burton when she had breast cancer and then decided to take on something more challenging for a good cause. Ms Burton, of Wootton Road, said: “We’d been worried about the weather because every day we’d been looking out of our windows and seeing thunder and lightning and then on Friday, after the Queen’s passing, we didn’t know if the event would still be going ahead.

“Once we got confirmation it was still on, we were relieved.”

She said that in the event the weather was perfect and the walk went smoothly, even though it was hard work.

“It was very exciting in the morning when we were just walking and chatting. It had a kind of festival feel,” she said.

“The first stop was at 25km and we were still in great form. At the 50km mark it was trickier and it had got dark, which is when we realised it was getting quite serious and we were going to spend the next eight hours walking in pitch black.” When they reached the 62km mark at about midnight, the walkers took a short break to get blisters strapped up by medical staff and have some food and water.

Ms Burton said: “Everybody was absolutely wrecked. Lots of people who had signed up for the 100km had dropped out at the 50km mark.

“The food and the doctors were amazing but we were all miserable. I didn’t even want to sit down because my body was telling me I needed to sleep.

“When we got to the 78km mark the next stop was 22km away, which was really difficult. In our training we could do 22km without thinking but after doing 78km it was really tough.

“I was ready to throw in the towel but you just had to keep each other going. It was Ali who stopped me from dropping out, reminding me why we were doing this.

“It was knowing that we were doing it for these three organisations and also realising that we had so much food and everything we needed when some people don’t have that in life. We passed through Windsor, which was pretty spectacular with the full moon and the castle.

“At 78km you can’t turn back because you’re so close but we also knew how long we had to go.

“Walking into Henley was really nice and people came to meet us. It was such a great feeling seeing your family and friends waiting for you at the finish in your home town.”

The group had split into three towards the end of the challenge as some walked faster than others.

Mr and Mrs Thompson finished first with Mr Gibbon and Mr Taylor half an hour later and the other three an hour after that.

Ms Burton said: “We are delighted it’s over. Our feet are all in bandages and I’m finding it hard to walk but I feel a massive sense of achievement.

“We have booked something for next week once we’ve recovered a bit so that we can celebrate.”

The walkers created a Just Giving fundraising page before the challenge and collected £3,000. To donate, visit https://bit.ly/3eJnQjJ