Peterborough man's wedding anniversary gift to wife was to secretly sign her up for a half marathon
His wife said she was hoping for a spa day
It’s not your typical wedding anniversary gift – but paying to register his wife for a half marathon turned out to be a smart move for James Ellwood.
The 42 year-old Peterborough man wanted to take part in the Great Eastern Run on October 13 to raise money for Meningitis Now – a charity close to his heart.
So as part of his wife Sophie’s ninth wedding anniversary gift, James secretly signed her up to the 13-mile race.
"The ‘gift’ was sold as something we can both do together in October, which I thought may be a day out shopping or a spa day,” said Sophie, 42.
“When the entry to the Great Eastern was revealed I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry! But now I think it was a really good idea to give me a focus for my training for the London Marathon.”
Sophie, who works as a teacher at the Jack Hunt School, will be taking part to raise money for the Sue Ryder Thorpe Hall hospice – which gave palliative care to her father before he passed away.
Speaking about the hospice’s support, Sophie said: “Sue Ryder were so welcoming to my dad and all of my family through this very very difficult time. We were really looked after in every way possible to ensure that we could be there for my dad day and night. My dad was able to keep his dignity in a much warmer environment away from the sterile hospital. Even after his passing, we were welcomed back and supported through the early stages of grief.”
James has chosen to run in support of Meningitis Now after contracting the illness as a child in 1995.
" I was very poorly,” he said. “But I was one of the lucky ones. My parents knew that I needed to be rushed in after being ill at home all day.
"What on the outside looked like a sickness/flu type bug developed into a rash during the night. At this point I was taken to the 24 hour GP, who took one look at me and told me to go straight to the hospital. As soon as I arrived, I was immediately put on IV drips to administer anti-biotics and within an hour I was taken to intensive care. I was in the ICU for 36 hours and then spent another week recovering on a ward before being allowed home.”
The Great Eastern Run will form part of the couple’s training for the London Marathon next year – but neither have taken part in a long-distance race for more than a decade. James took part in the GER 11 years ago, and both completed obstacle courses in their younger days. So the pair have been training three or four times a week – and see the GER as an opportunity to build up their fitness for the full 26.2 mile race.
James said: “The training is going really well, both of us go out individually at various times during the week between work, sport and looking after our children. We have both managed to do a 20km run, but are well aware that we will need to double that when we run the London Marathon.”
The couple hope to raise £2,000 each for their chosen charities, and have already held various events to boost the tally – with further plans for a charity quiz night and raffle.