Seven-year-old Worthing girl runs half marathon for Worthing Hospital

A young Worthing gymnast has raised hundreds of pounds for Worthing Hospital by running a mile a day for two weeks.
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Emma Brooker, seven, is a member of Flipitas Gymnastics Club at Vale School in Findon Valley and physically very strong but running is not her forte.

Proud mum Jen Brooker said it had not been easy for Emma but she had persevered every day until she completed the distance of a half marathon.

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Emma was inspired by her friend Indie Capon, who ran 100km in May with her sister Eden for NHS Charities Together.

Seven-year-old Emma Brooker has run a half marathon to raise money for The League of Worthing Hospitals & Community FriendsSeven-year-old Emma Brooker has run a half marathon to raise money for The League of Worthing Hospitals & Community Friends
Seven-year-old Emma Brooker has run a half marathon to raise money for The League of Worthing Hospitals & Community Friends
Read More
Worthing sisters run 100k for NHS Charities Together

Jen said: “She decided she wanted to do something to raise money for Worthing Hospital. She does gymnastics, so she is very strong, but she doesn’t really do running.

“She decided to run a mile a day until she had reached her target of just over half a marathon. She started off really enthusiastic but about halfway through she was finding it hard and we had to give her lots of encouragement.

“She has done a great job and her brothers are very proud of her. It is nice that she thought of someone else and it gave her something to focus on while she wasn’t able to go to school.”

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Emma, who is now back at school at The Vale, has an older brother, Harry, nine, and younger brother, George, one, who helped encourage her as she ran her half marathon.

She set out to raise £50 for The League of Worthing Hospitals & Community Friends, because she wanted to do what she could to support the NHS, and has so far reached £235 in donations.

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