Congratulations to four members of the Trinity community who successfully completed the London Marathon last weekend. Three members of teaching staff ran the race including Mr Marriott (Head of PE), Ms Upton (Teacher of Mathematics) and Ms Donkin (Head of Chemistry). We also had a rather special runner in the shape of Trinity alumnus David Picksley, who was the oldest runner to take part in this year’s marathon at the sprightly age of 90!
David had received quite a bit of attention in the run up to and on the day of the marathon. Many media interviews, from outlets including the BBC, shared his inspiring story and details of his fundraising (through JustGiving) for Bowel Cancer UK. This even prompted a very generous donation from Dame Judi Dench who wished him luck and promised to cheer him on!
Ms Catling, Alumni Engagement Manager, went along to support David and the other members of the Trinity community with a banner made by the Art Department, and shares her experience of the day here:
“The London Marathon returned to its springtime date for the first time since before the Covid-19 pandemic. We positioned ourselves near Rotherhithe Station and were fortunate enough to have an unobstructed view of GB Paralympian David Weir as he zoomed past in the elite wheelchair group. The elite women closely followed, with the eventual winner, Sifan Hassan, appearing to struggle with hip pain. The elite men were next, and the crowd erupted in excitement for Sir Mo Farah, who was running his last marathon.
“As the crowd grew, so did the number of runners, and despite the rain, the atmosphere was electric. Among the many runners we also saw rhinos, telephone boxes, Wonder Women, and even Colin the Caterpillar! But the real hero we were there to support was 90-year-old David Picksley, Class of 1951, who met us on the bridge over Surrey Water just after 1.30pm. We stopped for a chat to see how he was getting on and handed over a much-needed banana to fuel him for the next stretch of the race. Despite being the oldest participant in this year’s marathon and walking the course, David looked better than some of the other runners we had seen and was making good time.
“David successfully completed the race in an impressive 7 hours, 16 minutes, and 46 seconds, raising over £7,000 for Bowel Cancer UK in memory of his sister April. We would like to thank the entire Trinity Community for rallying behind David and supporting him through messages of encouragement and sponsorship. He is an inspiration, and a shining example of the values Trinity instils in all its students.”
Well done to everyone who participated in this incredible event!
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