Coastal Trail Series, Dorset – November 2008

A friend and colleague from Jeremy’s Bristol University days, Pete Goddard, completed an arduous marathon in poor conditions along Dorset’s Jurassic coastline in aid of the JWCT.

Pete described his experience as follows: “A night of heavy rain and high winds . . . wasn't particularly encouraging for the race on Saturday morning, my foreboding was made worse at the wet and cold pre-race briefing where I seemed to be the only person foolish enough not to have specialist fell running footwear. The course was a figure of eight that went west along the coastal path to Kimmeridge Bay, then up onto the Purbeck hills and back inland to near the start at Worth Matravers, where it then crossed back to the coastal path eastwards until the headland near Swanage, before returning inland to the finish at Worth Matravers. As we set off the rain stopped and although breezy, conditions were pretty good - we even had some sun. Beforehand I thought the hills would be the biggest challenge but in fact they weren't too bad - many were too steep (and slippery) to attempt to run up so everyone had to walk them. It was very muddy underfoot and I slipped and slid all over the place, including some spectacular flat-on-the-face moments.”

Despite the challenging weather and hilly terrain, Pete rounded off the 26.2miles in just over four hours. Pete said “as with some low points during the training, thinking of Jeremy's drive and determination got me through and gave me the will to grin and bear the pain to carry on.” The event on 18 November 2008 raised over £1,000 for the JWCT.

City to Surf Run, Sydney – August 2008

Climb of the world’s most northerly 7,000m peak – August 2008

Oli Brown, a good friend of Jeremy, braved the tough conditions of the world’s most northerly 7,000m peak to raise £1,250 for the JWCT commenting after the climb “I think it was certainly the most tiring thing I've ever done”. Oli climbed the north ridge of Khan Tengri, a 7,010m mountain in the Tien Shan range on the border of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. The mountain, whose name means ‘Lord of the Spirits’, is spectacularly capped by a pyramid of marble. It has notoriously fickle weather and temperatures that drop to minus 35C and the route was steep and exposed, and vertical in a few places.

Despite having a liver/gall-bladder infection which nearly resulted in a helicopter evacuation, Oli kept giving it ‘just one more day’ until the team reached Camp Three after a day stuck in a blizzard at Camp Two. Oli commented “we had absolutely perfect conditions for the summit. Not long after we left the tents at 4am it started to get light and soon we were high enough to get a stunning view over the north and south Inylchek glaciers (some of the largest in the world outside the Poles) and for a hundred kilometres in every direction across the central Tien Shan. Nine and a half hours later we were standing on top and another 5 or so more saw me back down at camp three. Very, very tired but content.”

Oli commented that “Jez was a dear friend of mine who would have loved to come on this climb. He was a remarkable guy.” He also said of the JWCT “this is a great organisation that is making a real difference”.

Swim, Cycle, Run - London to Edinburgh – May 2008

Matt Willson, accompanied by friends Simon Ferguson and Tim Grimble, successfully completed a challenge to swim, cycle and run from London to Edinburgh.

Following a chilly 2-mile swim in the Serpentine in Hyde Park in 1 hour 5 mins, Matt joined the team at Marble Arch, London, for a very early rise to cycle the 439 miles over four days to Edinburgh. The first two days covering 256 miles via Peterborough and Lincoln proved to be relatively easy going however days three and four were much harder with some long climbs through the Yorkshire Moors and Border Country.

The team were blessed with an efficient support team (Matt’s father and brother Tom) who kept them well fed and watered, and the weather was favourable, meaning that they were able to cruise into Edinburgh following a relatively easy 47 mile last day’s cycle. The following day the team were up early again for the Edinburgh Marathon which Matt ran in a painful 3 hours 50 mins. Matt could barely walk at the end of the marathon but was pleased to complete without too many mishaps apart from the odd bike accident and lost team members!

The event, which quickly evolved from a pub conversation to reality, raised over £7,000 for the JWCT and increased awareness of the JWCT and Jeremy’s story. See articles in the Kent Messenger and Surrey Advertiser.

Articles reporting on how the team fared can be seen in the Kent Messenger and on TV in the Meridian News.

Two tough girls, Lucy Cannock and Lorna Buckwell (see photo), ran the London Marathon for the JWCT in April 2008, both raising essential funds for the charity.

Lucy explained in the months before the endurance event that she had put herself through “an insane training regime of ‘before sunrise’ starts and a daily dose of pain and embarrassment as I run around London desperately trying to find miles to run”. The training paid off and she achieved an official finishing time of 3 hours 51 minutes. The day after the event she explained that she was a “little sore” and “not walking in the most attractive fashion”, however she raised an incredible £1,300 from the generosity of her family and friends.

Lorna completed the event in a fantastic 4 hours 19 minutes despite sustaining an injury weeks before. After finishing she said “the last 4.2 miles were really tough and it started to hail as I trudged towards Big Ben but the crowd were really amazing and they definitely helped me get round. The feeling of elation on crossing the finishing line is quite something”. Lorna explained that she had chosen to raise money for the charity set up in memory of Jeremy Willson because “I probably would not be running a marathon if it wasn't for the example Jeremy set to live life to the full and to attempt new challenges.” Lorna raised over £800 thanks to her efforts.

Mike Coleman (right, in photograph), a high-performing cross-country athlete, was awarded with the Jeremy Willson Trophy at Medway & Maidstone Athletics Club. The trophy is awarded annually to the best Winter athlete.

The trophy was presented to Mike at Medway and Maidstone Athletics Club’s AGM on 4 April 2008 by David Gambrill, Jeremy’s godfather, who has donated this magnificent trophy.