Leonardo employee Fergus Crawford marked his 50th birthday this year by running 50 kilometres in 6.5 hours to raise £1,290, which will be split between Cancer Research UK and Diabetes UK charities in memory of his mother.
Fergus, who recently learned he is a Type 2 diabetic, works as a Principal Avionic Systems Engineer at Leonardo in Yeovil. Family and friends gathered at key points along the circuit, while some of his colleagues from Leonardo acted as support cyclists, while other friends ran alongside Fergus through sections of the marathon.
His ambitious route took in several loops across Yeovil, near where he works at Leonardo in Yeovil, and the surrounding areas extending to Glastonbury. He ran from Wells at the back of the Bishops Palace, through to Dulcote and along the banks of the Sheppy River through Dinder and Croscombe, and up the 80 metre climb of Darshill hill then back down into Shepton Mallet. From there, Fergus and his friends ran along the ridge of the Mendip Hills before dropping back down towards Dinder to follow the road back.
However, it was the following leg of the run to Glastonbury and back again that proved to be the hardest, due to the distance. It was at the 33 kilometres point that Fergus first hit ‘the wall’ commonly experienced by marathon runners, where their stamina is tested to the limit. -, It was at this point that his reason for taking on the marathon drove him forward.
Fergus said: “My mother was a keen orienteer and walker and believed in pushing herself to see what she could do – and to be honest the number 50 was looming large in my mind, so I thought 50 kilometres celebrating 50 years was a nice tribute to her. The fact that I managed to run 51 kilometres exceeding my target proves she was right – you can always do more than you realise.”
Anyone wishing to make a donation to Fergus’s fundraising can visit the fundraising sites here:
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