Kath's Marathon effort for MoodSwings
29 Apr 2013
In four hours, 13 minutes and 30 seconds, Kath Henderson, a Disability Advisor in Student Support and Services, achieved what would have seemed impossible three years ago: she started, ran in and finished the London Marathon!
By doing so, she raised the tidy sum of £643.42 for MoodSwings, an award-winning Manchester-based charity which helps people to recover from mood problems and the severe emotional distress they can cause.
Kath explains: “Three years ago, I was probably the most world's most unlikely marathon runner, though I might have broken into a jog to get to the off-licence before closing time! Then I met with MoodSwings and started doing Parkrun."
Parkrun organises free, weekly, 5 km timed runs around the world and, while taking part in a series of these, Kath discovered that she’d done more than enough to win a place in the London Marathon - a prospect that both delighted and terrified her.
However, her determination to support her charity helped her to rise to the challenge: "Having accidentally won a place on the London Marathon, I trained to get from my normal three miles up to the 26.2 miles of the marathon in 10 weeks."
Despite suffering a slight wobble towards the end ("I saw the sign saying ‘Only 800 meters to go’ and thought ‘I just can’t do that!’"), Kath crossed the finishing line with nothing worse than aching muscles and a few missing toenails.
Although the London Marathon is over for this year, you can still show your support for Kath’s great achievement by donating online to MoodSwings at:
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If there's anyone else out there who ran in the London Marathon or the Manchester Marathon, or who is planning to take part in the Great Manchester Run on 16 May, and you'd like to share your experiences, do get in touch with the Internal Comunications team at: