They exceeded their £10,000 target and have so far raised nearly £15,000 for Brooke – Action for Working Horses and Donkeys, with money still coming in! The pair were elated when they joined the Brooke team for some snacks and a massage after the London Marathon, their final run.
Carolyne said:
“We did it, ten marathons in ten days and we’re still in great spirits! It’s amazing what you can achieve when you dare to dream.”
Speaking about their gruelling training schedule Brian said:
“Carolyne did twice as much training as I did. Carolyne spoke to Greg Whyte who coached Eddie Izzard for his runs and Carolyne would feedback what he’d said. I remember she told me we had to do a week of half marathons in March, and then we have to get comfortable doing back to back marathons every weekend, and I thought ‘yeah, right!’ But do you know what? That is what had to happen.”
They both suffered from injuries over the ten days, Carolyne’s knees became increasingly painful and Brian was struggling with his shins and legs.
Asked about the biggest challenges they faced throughout their ten days Brian described how running along the roads in Galway during their sixth marathon was extremely difficult:
“In Galway the traffic, the lorries, the buses, the cars, was incessant. I got a little bit irritated with that but then you think about those working donkeys and horses in India and Egypt and other countries and what they have to endure day in day out must be unbelievable… Also coping with the boredom of running was one of the biggest challenges!”
“Would I do another marathon? I wouldn’t say no but I have no itch to scratch right now! But that’s what I said last year!”
Carolyne, from Gloucestershire and fellow vet Brian, from Suffolk, started their gruelling 260 mile journey in Wahilgoe, Northern Scotland on 14 April and finished with the London Marathon on 23 April. Travelling across the country, they faced punishing terrains from Land’s End to Orkney, from Galway in Ireland to Wales.
They ran for Brooke, a charity that works to support the lives of working horses, donkeys and mules in some of the world’s poorest communities and in so doing, help the people that rely on these animals to earn a living, and provide for their families. Carolyne said:
“It’s been an amazing ten days for a fantastic cause!”
To sponsor the pair, visit www.ten2london.co.uk.
To find out more about Brooke, visit www.thebrooke.org.
