An Eccleshall businessman has taken on the London Marathon after he sent a semi-serious entry in 2019.
Tom Court was surprised when his entry was accepted, at 6ft 6ins and 19 and half stone he admits he was built for comfort, not speed and realised he had to make serious lifestyle changes.
Having started training for the first time since his schooldays, the event was promptly cancelled, then postponed because of Covid-19, but he was given a deferment and slowly brought his weight down to 16 stone, but paid a price for pounding roads around Stafford and Eccleshall with a recurring knee injury.
Nevertheless, the 37-year-old owner of ITech completed the marathon, raising more than £1,500 for the local branch of Mind charity.
Having only taken part in the Stafford Half before, Tom had never experienced anything like the atmosphere of the race.
“The runners were so friendly. At the start I talked to a woman wearing a vest bearing the heart-breaking message ‘sleep tight my baby’ having lost her infant child – and running to raise funds to research why.
“There were so many heart-rending stories like this, but still it was a joyous occasion, where people felt they were helping others to survive the traumas they had suffered.
“Half a million people turned out to cheer us on – how could we not finish.
“There were ethnic bands playing along the route, changing cultures as we went, like the steel band playing under a flyover, and a jazz band further on, then a big party with ‘boom-box’ at full volume, but it was the shouts of encouragement that carried me through a vicious, short storm at around 18 miles – when I was really hurting.
“I will never forget the atmosphere at the finish area in St James’ Park. Thousands of people congratulating their ‘heroes’, young and old and celebrating their success, whether their time was world-class, or five hours 55 minutes like mine.
“It was a joyous place to be, and there were some bizarre sights too.
“I was trying to work out what a large mound was under a tree, then it became clear when a supporter picked up a part of it that it was a pile of the rubber rhinos the ‘save-the rhino’ heroes had been wearing all the way round!”
Tom has been overwhelmed by the support from family, friends and the local community. He used the opportunity to raise funds for the North Staffordshire branch of the charity Mind.
The mental health charity has helped more then 8,000 people a year for the last 40 years, with trusted, specialist support. Many more people have suffered mental health issues as a result of Covid-19 during the last 18 months, and as his vest said, ‘It’s OK not to be OK’.
Tom has raised more than £1,500 to date with donations still coming in. If you would like to donate please visit his gofundme page or call in to I.Tech in Eccleshall, Staffordshire.
https://www.inyourarea.co.uk/news/eccleshall-man-drops-three-stone-and-completes-london-marathon-for-charity/
