Droitwich Mum completes her own ‘London marathon’ relay route and raises over £1000

A determined Mum from Droitwich, who was due to run the London Marathon last weekend, created her own relay route from her driveway in Hadzor in order to complete the 26.2 mile challenge herself.

Gail Braznell, who has only been running for three years, was delighted when she secured a space through the ballot and spent the winter months preparing and training for the challenge. Gail explains: “I was really excited about the prospect of running the London Marathon and had chosen to raise money for my son’s nursery, Pippins in Hanbury, as it’s charity run and was trying to raise funds itself for some new equipment.

“When the event was cancelled, I was so disappointed about not being able to raise these valuable funds for Pippins, because they provide such amazing early years care and have gone above and beyond for our family. I started thinking about what else I could do and, realising that the private driveway from our house in Hadzor down to the main Hanbury Road is half a mile, I decided that I would go ahead with my marathon, running up and down the driveway 26 times.”

Hearing about the challenge Gail had set herself, local friends and neighbours joined in at various points throughout, whilst maintaining social distancing, to give Gail the support and encouragement she needed to complete the 26 ‘laps’. Her two sons, Thomas and Jai, cheered her on with homemade banners and chants to keep her going, and held the finishing tape at the end. After sharing her achievements on social media, Gail smashed her fundraising target of £1000 for Pippins Nursery, raising £1,170 so far.

Helen Firminger, Nursery Manager at Pippins, said: “We are so touched that Gail chose to support Pippins through her marathon efforts. To go ahead with her own marathon on Sunday was brave and inspirational and we’re so grateful to her, and to all those who donated this fantastic amount of money for Pippins. We plan to put it towards some new sensory equipment, a mud kitchen and an indoor tent, all of which will provide valuable opportunities for our wonderful children.”

Gail concluded: “I’m so grateful to everyone who donated and I’m overjoyed that I was able to complete my marathon last Sunday. I’ll be ready for the real thing next year!”