Ultra marathon success for East Midlands team members

Two intrepid members of the East Midlands team pushed themselves to the limit last weekend when they took on the South Coast Ultra Marathon.

Emma Johnson, Technical Coordinator, and Emily Sheppard, Senior Architectural Coordinator, completed the 100km course between Eastbourne to Arundel – but diversions put in place during periods of bad weather meant they actually walked and ran 102km.

Emma said: “The finish line kept getting further away during the night and it just felt like we would never get there. The night element was definitely the hardest.”

But they did! They started out at 8am Saturday and finished at 10am the following day – travelling for just over 20 hours of that.

Emma said they ran the first half but as darkness fell they were forced to walk the second half with several rest breaks added in for welfare checks.

“We have been suffering ever since, we can’t get proper shoes on our feet this week. It is not something I would ever want to repeat but I am so proud of us for crossing the finish line.”

Emma and Emily each totalled over 130,000 steps during the event.

The pair took part in the challenge to raise funds for mental health charity Cambridgeshire, Peterborough and South Lincolnshire Mind.

They said: “After months of training, it was great to complete the South Coast Challenge. We are so pleased to have raised nearly £3,000 for CPSL Mind, an important local charity.

“The construction industry is one of the most affected industries across the UK in terms of mental health, and more than 56% of construction industry workers have experienced mental health issues.”

The duo were supported by a donation from Persimmon Homes and you can still donate to increase their total – you can find their Just Giving page here.