Between May 2011 and April 2012 Richard will be the Mayor of Ashby De La Zouch. During this time Richard will attempt to run '12 Marathons in 12 Months' (www.12marathons.info). Part of Richard’s 12 marathon campaign is to encourage people to realise their own capabilities, in sport, academic or any other goal. As quoted by Richard, “everyone’s goal is different, it doesn’t matter how big or small it is. With encouragement and determination these goals can become a reality”. Another big reason for the 12 marathons is to continue to raise funds for Wishes 4 Kids. “It doesn’t matter how much we raise, as every penny counts, especially in today’s economic climate”. As always Richard will be funding all the costs involved of each marathon. Therefore every penny raised will go directly to Wishes 4 Kids.
To date Richard has completed 4 of the 12 marathons, these being at Buxton, Telford, Skegness and Dovedale. Each one has been different and each one has been hard in its own right. Buxton, The White Peaks Marathon, followed the Tissington Trail, up the dale north of Parsley Hay, where it does an about turn then takes a left fork to follow the High Peak Trail. Going along the Cromford canal, the finish line was at Cromford Meadows. Telford, The Holly Challenge, was a much smaller event, following a private road around a loop 33 times. Everyone here were so friendly, offering plenty of encouragement. The Skegness Marathon, The Seabank Challenge, was a race from Skegness to Boston following the grass seabank all the way. The most recent one, completed in early August was the Dovedale Dipper. This certainly lived up to it’s name. Starting and finishing at Hartington, Derbyshire, it followed an underlating cross country course along the Dovedale Valley, up onto the Staffordshire Moorlands, before crossing the Manifold Valley. With 3966 feet of ascent, map reading, and stiles to master, this was the hardest marathon to date.
The Marathons:
White Peaks (Buxton)
Holly Challenge (Telford)
Seabank Challenge (Skegness/Boston)
Dovedale Dipper
Robin Hood
Leicester
Rutland
Luton
Gloucester
Cambridge Boundry
Ashby 20 (+6)
London
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