Teacher Emma Spooner has successfully run the London Marathon, raising £771 for 16th Morecambe Scouts.
The geography teacher finished the 26.2-mile course in an impressive time of 3 hours 52 minutes and 59 seconds, crossing the line just behind Sir Mo Farah.
Mrs Spooner, who is a keen amateur runner, had refused to enter the ballot for 10 years as she thought she wasn’t up to going the distance but, after much badgering from friends and relations, entered without thinking she stood a chance of getting a place. Each year 400,000 people apply for just 12,000 places.
However, fate stepped in and she won a coveted ballot place during her 40th birthday year.
Mrs Spooner said:
“The benefit of a ballot place is that I was able to choose my own fundraising and charity options, so really wanted it to be something local and where I was confident every penny would go to improving opportunities for young people.
“I feel incredibly fortunate to have had the opportunity to be able to raise some much needed funds for the 16th Morecambe Scouts. The troop has grown so much that they have had to create a second group in order to accommodate the number of young people who wish to join.
“This is an amazing testament to the fabulous team of volunteers, who relentlessly and tirelessly give up their time to dedicate themselves to the development of these young people. However, consequently they now require more equipment (particularly camping equipment) to be able to continue to support these youngsters on all their adventurous activities and continue to provide the fantastic opportunities that they do. The team dedicate its efforts to creating opportunities for personal and social development in the outdoors; development which is hard to quantify, yet priceless in its value.”
Speaking about race day itself, Emma added:
“I’m still reeling from the excitement of the weekend. The day itself was absolutely crazy and so overwhelming. I shed a good few tears on occasions – at Tower Bridge, on seeing the Birthday Cake by Buckingham Palace and running up The Mall. Apparently, I overtook 10,060 people and was overtaken by only 167. That made me smile as I was in the top 29% overall and the top 18% for my gender.”
Principal John Shannon said:
“We are all so proud of Mrs Spooner for undertaking such a gruelling challenge, which will help to benefit the children of Morecambe.”
You can still donate to 16th Morecambe Scouts through Mrs Spooner’s Just Giving page at https://mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/emmaslondonmarathon
