With the Rutland Marathon just over the hill, the past 6 weeks has seen Alex, Murray, Ross and Vicky hit the roads in preparation for the Rutland Team Marathon. On Sunday 17th September the quartet will each be undergoing just over 10km each to complete the illustrious race that has become famous around the county of Rutland.
Whilst each runner will be taking in the amazing scenery that is Rutland Water, there will also be another thought driving each of them on; Rainbows Children’s Hospice. Rainbows is a charity close to all of the runners with Ross and Vicky Poole’s daughter Evie and Murray’s son Toby, whilst Alex’s wife and Director of Excellence Physio Charlotte is a carer for both Evie and Toby.
Rainbows provides both care and support for children with life limiting diseases year after year and has helped with both Toby and Evie over the years. Not only do they provide a safe place for them to relax and enjoy time with their friends and family, but they also provide respite for the families too. Toby’s siblings have been a number of excursions organised by rainbows helping them to socialise with siblings of other children cared for by the hospice. Whilst Ross attends and volunteers at the father’s support group that helps the parents of children with life limiting diseases, providing a place where they can open up with support staff and other parents who are experiencing the same challenges.
Ross explains how much of a positive effect Rainbows has had on family life. “It's the reassurance that Evie can go there, be absolutely spoilt, with a level of care that leaves us with no doubt or worries. We can chill for a little while and be ready to go again. The swimming pool play sessions they run are a great idea, giving us all the chance to do family things in an environment that's not restrictive or not suitable. They (Rainbows) also run a dad's group, where dad's involved in the special needs lifestyle can meet and talk about absolute rubbish or have a rant at the system but most of all just talk. From my previous forces back ground, mental health has always been a big thing and dad's group is a non judgemental forum for men to talk about the things that are affecting them and just flush the mental toilet once in a while.”
When asked about how his training has been going Ross joyfully responded “The training has been good. I’ve not been able to run for so long due to a previous injury which had put me off. But with the rehab plan put together by Excellence Physio, I’ve now got the piece of mind in knowing what's going on and I'm not making things worse. It's going to take a while longer yet to get back to my full ability but I've got my old running head on and I'm loving it.”
Excellence Physio Director Alex is looking forward to the challenge and is happy to be able to give something back to Rainbows. “Over the years we have become good friends with Ross, Vicky, Murray and Camilla (Toby’s mother) and see just how much of an effect the support and care that Rainbows provide has on Toby, Evie and their families. We’ve always admired the work they do and wished we could give something back. The Rutland Team Marathon has provided us with an excellent opportunity to do that and it’s going to be a great feeling running alongside these guys. It’s not been easy training for it as we all have varying levels of fitness, but it’s been fun and it’s encouraged each of us to exercise more which is an added bonus.”
The team would like to thank everyone who has showed support along the way, whether this is through donations or supportive messages. They look forward to sharing their experiences with you after the race and hope to see some of you at the finish line.
If you would like to donate to their cause, please follow the link below:
