Life changing decisions are often made without you realising it.
I’d always said if I was ever going to run a marathon, I would only ever run one and it would be New York (although of course, like countless other aspirational runners, I entered the ballot every year for the London Marathon).
I attended a fitness retreat in November 2021, needing a break and reset having spent the previous 18 months working in the public sector dealing with COVID. We were encouraged to think about personal goals, and the lure of a marathon was like a big flashing light in my head which wouldn’t go away. I also had the desire to encourage other women, who don’t fit the traditional mould of what a runner looks like, to take part.
A phrase from that course stuck in my head: ‘If you ever come across an opportunity, and you can’t think of a good reason to say “no,” then don’t, even though it may scare you.’
Less than a month later, I listened to an announcement by Julie Creffield from one of my online running groups. She was looking for women to come with her to raise funds and awareness of Street Child’s work by heading to Sierra Leone to run “The World’s Craziest Marathon.” Could I think of a really good reason to say no? Evidently not because less than 8 months later I became a MARATHON RUNNER! Five months after that, a double marathoner, and then another 5 months on, a triple marathoner. All from someone who always got “A” for effort in PE at school but not so much for achievement. By doing this, I also managed to raise enough to send over 180 young people to school for a year in some of the world’s most challenging places.
I’m a Brownie Leader in my “spare” time and have been for over 20 years. I know the difference that education and opportunities can make for the girls I volunteer with. They gain confidence, friendship and experiences that will shape them for the rest of their life. Even in a relatively well-off place like the UK, this makes a huge difference to the kind of success they can achieve in the future.
In Sierra Leone I got to see first-hand the difference Street Child makes to young people, their families and their communities. Street Child’s activities reminded me of what I do in my day-to-day life at work as a CFO for a council where, similarly, the way money is spent matters and can make or break people’s future opportunities.
That marathon was hard, but I will always remember Sierra Leone, the families I met, the social workers I saw in the field, and the other runners with whom I now have lifelong friendships. One particular child has stuck in my head and heart. “M” ran with me and my little group of four for the first half of the race in fashion trainers and no socks. In broken English he told me of his life living with his grandmother and sister as an orphan. His greatest wish? To be a social worker for Street Child. “M”: I will never know if your dream comes true, but you are forever a part of why I will continue to promote Street Child and will never stop talking about what I learned or find ways to keep the message alive.
Adele and the group 'Too Fat to Run' at the finish line of the Sierra Leone Marathon 2022.
That’s also one of the reasons that the rest of this challenge came about. I’d applied for The New York Marathon during a slightly mad moment amid my training for Sierra Leone and was surprised when I got a place. What a difference between the races! Dusty open roads and searing heat compared to one of the brashest and most vocally supported marathons in the world.
It was tough. In fact, in some ways it was tougher than Sierra Leone, because the “why?” wasn’t so prominent in my mind. But there we were: 5 months later a double marathoner. As I crossed that finish line, my mind went back to “M” and I remember thinking I wished his dreams would be realised in years to come, hopefully made easier by this daft, slightly crazy woman just putting one foot in front of the other for about 7 hours.
When I crossed the finish line, I thought that running was behind me. That was until I got asked by Street Child’s fundraising team to come and speak at an event to encourage people to sign up for The Street Child Sierra Leone Marathon 2023. I spoke with passion about the impact not only the marathon had on me, but the people I met, the things I saw and how saying NO, unless you had a good reason, should be something to think twice about before doing! So, when that same evening I got asked if I wanted a place for the London Marathon, I didn’t take too long to jump at the chance.
Fundraising for the London Marathon gave me the opportunity to once again talk about everything Street Child does and stands for, and gave me the chance to test this 40-something-(closer to 50 than 40!)-year-old body once again, all whilst ticking off another bucket list run in my hometown. Cutty Sark, Tower Bridge, Tower of London—all places I’d watched those lucky runners go past for so many years, and suddenly I was one of them!
I am a back of the pack runner, and really proud to be. Whilst I was still out pounding the streets in Sierra Leone, a lot of people had already finished, eaten and showered! But I didn’t care. I still ran those same 26.2 miles. I had the honour of being one of the last two people to cross the finish line alongside my friend Rachel. We started together and kept mostly within sight of each other (although we swapped places several times!) on the day, proudly representing Street Child all the way round.
Then came the Mall… half an hour off my PB and the finish line. And that was it: 3 marathons over 3 continents between June 2022 and April 2023.
Whoever you are, you can make a difference. If you know your “why?” the power that provides you cannot be topped. It's important to remember that these three races are the victory laps—it’s the countless hours of training, fundraising and talking about why you are doing it, that sits behind it all. People are quick to recognise it all for the feat it is, which is why they will sponsor you even when you are doing crazy things!
Of course, it isn’t just the fundraising that matters—I got as much back from this as I put into it. I got to visit one of the most beautiful countries in the world, and I re-ignited the passion I have for my own work in the public sector and volunteering here in the UK. The day after the London Marathon I got a message from a parent of one of my Brownies. They had seen me out running and had “been following my dot” online all the way round the course. They told me it had inspired their daughter to run and walk more. In a world where young girls often lose interest in sport at ages 7-10, it’s lovely to know you can encourage the youngest generation to do good for themselves and for others all at once.
If I can do this, they can do it. If I can do this, what could you do for Street Child?