​Sussex family go the extra mile (or 26) to support bowel cancer charity

A Sussex family has undertaken a huge fundraising drive by running a full marathon in their own garden.

Liz Lumber, her partner Sue and son Fin ran an incredible 353 laps of their garden at home in Hampden Park, East Sussex and raised nearly £4,400 for Bowel Cancer UK.

Liz, who works as an Operational Standards Manager for Govia Thameslink Railway, is a keen fundraiser and was disheartened by how the lockdown is affecting the major charities with events like the London Marathon cancelled.

She said: "They depend on events like these for donations, and Sue and I have completed 10 London Marathons between us - and were set to take part this year.”

Sue Fry, 48, has been diagnosed with bowel cancer, so they wanted to make sure they didn't miss their chance to raise some much-needed support for their chosen charity.

"We knew that we had it in us to complete it as we are a determined family. Fin is also a good runner and was totally up for the challenge," added Liz, who has worked on the railway for 20 years and is a former train driver.

And so the trio marked out a track with racing banners and even had the occasional spectator as pedestrians passed by.

"We did have some pre-run nerves where we unpicked the magnitude of the task," said Liz. "However, we knew that so many had donated and wanted to make the dream of completing this a reality.

"We split the relay and started off running 30 laps each, then repeat and repeat again! Fin was amazing throughout, giving a commentary at key milestones like the one, two, three- hour points and the half marathon stage.

"We are competitive and soon realised that if we pushed the pace we could break a sub-four-hour marathon. A mean feat on such a technical course! Sue ran the last mile at a great rate to bring us home in 3 hrs 57 mins.

"It was a truly wonderful feeling to have completed the event. We may make it an annual event."

The family’s marathon took place on April 26, which would have been the date of the London Marathon. If you would like to support their fundraising, visit https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/sue-fry26-2%20

Liz and Sue are also event directors of the annual Eastbourne 10km, which would normally have taken place in June but has been rescheduled for November 2020. This year the event will be raising money for St Wilfred’s Hospice in Eastbourne. For more details, visit https://eastbourne10km.wordpress.com/