Our 100km Ultramarathon for MFT

On Friday 23 June 2023, Lewis, Baz, Dom and Matt, four members of The Reigate Heath Golf Club, completed a gruelling 100km ultramarathon from Henley-on-Thames to London under the scorching sun, raising an impressive £2,435 for MFT. We couldn’t be more proud and thankful to them for their heroic efforts!

Everyone at MFT (staff, Trustees, volunteers and clients alike) would like to thank them from the bottom of our hearts for taking on such a gigantic challenge and being fantastic mental health ambassadors! 

In this blog, Baz shares with us how he and his friends tackled their ambitious challenge. He writes:

“After a 3:30am alarm we piled into an Uber at the crack of dawn to head out towards the Henley start point, scoffing down meal deals and Lucozades in our final efforts to carb load. As the sun rose we got underway at 4:50am just outside Henley along the Thames Path.

Baz and friends running along The Thames at sunrise

The plan was to lead with a steady 10km jog followed by a 2km walk to refuel, and repeating this again whilst tapering in the distance of jogging over time. This strategy went to plan as we slowly ticked off the miles, enjoying a serene and misty morning along the Oxfordshire riverside.

Meandering through Marlow, Maidenhead and Windsor we soon arrived into Staines for a quick lunch stop at Sainsbury’s and a tactical sock change. Again fuelling up as much as we could we returned to the Thames Path with a few more intervals, this time around 5 or 6km at a time with a rest in between. We had a portable speaker on hand which definitely helped lift morale as tunes were pumping along the way. Passing Hampton Court Palace and up towards Kingston we closed in on the 70km mark which at that point we agreed to reduce to walking for the remainder of the journey.

Having run 56km out of those 70km we were pleased with the progress, and passed through Richmond as the sun began to really heat up. From here it was a bit of a slog and progress was obviously slow, but being met by friends and family to join us for stints along the way definitely lifted spirits.

Now down to a hobbling pace we continued through Chiswick, Hammersmith and Battersea, as a London skyline in the distance began to reveal itself. Running on fumes we continued to push on with various landmarks coming to the fore. We eventually passed Westminster and the London Eye at around 95k with the end now in sight. Finally we landed near London Bridge, finishing at the Old Thameside Inn at 9pm with a well deserved pint. After 16 hours on feet and 124,000 steps we had made it.

Thank you from all of us for all the support along the way and for those that sponsored us with donations. We were thrilled to complete the challenge and doing so for such a worthy cause.”

It isn’t too late to sponsor Lewis, Baz, Dom and Matt. You can still donate by visiting their fundraising page.

Want to complete a challenge event for MFT?

If you are looking to join an existing challenge event and raise funds for MFT or looking to set up your own, our Fundraising Officer Biba is there to support you. She can assist with setting up a fundraising page on our Fundraising platform, get you an MFT running vest and help you spread the word about your event on social media. Email her at biba@maryfrancestrust.org.uk or call/SMS 07877 846392.

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