Dad’s virtual London Marathon raises money for Rockinghorse

The iconic Virgin Money London Marathon has tried hard to make sure that the £60m plus raised for charities throughout the country isn’t entirely lost. Along with organising an elite race around the capital for the 40th anniversary of the event, organisers have also been encouraging charity runners to complete their own race around local routes to help their chosen causes.

Throughout Sussex there are 12 runners fundraising for Rockinghorse around the county.

Andy Fountain, a long-standing supporter of the charity, has chosen a route around his home in Cowfold. Andy’s son Eddie was born with tracheoesophageal fistula which meant that he had to undergo several hours of surgery at only a few hours old. Eddie remained under the care of the hospital right up to his eighteenth birthday.

Explaining his reasons for continuing his support of the charity, Andy said: “Without the skill and dedication of the teams at the Royal Alexandra Children’s Hospital and Rockinghorse my son would not be the young man he is today.”

Another runner, Darren Evans from Seaford, took on his first ever marathon distance around Brighton, visiting the Royal Alexandra Children’s Hospital on the way.

Darren’s daughter Shannon was born in 1992 but due to complications at birth, she was treated in the Trevor Mann Baby Unit. Despite being told that she may have suffered brain damage after not breathing for six minutes, Shannon was prescribed a specialist drug for six months to slow her brain activity down and went on to make a full recovery. Shannon is now 28 and worked in finance before going travelling.

Darren said: “We were recently reflecting at Shannon’s birthday celebrations about our experiences and it has a massive emotional attachment for us. What Rockinghorse does for the Alex and the TMBU is wonderful and I am so happy to be able to support their work.”

To fundraise for Rockinghorse at the difficult time visit www.rockinghorse.org.uk.