Since the world has been hit with the COVID-19, most of us have been spending our time at home. The shutdowns in various countries across the globe have been worrisome but very necessary to curb the spread of this lethal virus.
Did you ever think that you would be locked up in your house for days together like this?
I bet you never did.
The same happened with an English runner, Sam Hustler, who wanted to run a half-marathon to raise funds for a charity. The 27-year-old was very prepared for this run when the COVID-19 took him by surprise.
How he finished his marathon!
Prior to the shutdown, he was relentlessly training to take part in the London Landmarks Half Marathon that would take him through sights such as the St. Paul’s Cathedral, the Big Ben, and The Shard. It was supposed to be a 21 kilometre (13 miles) run to raise money for the Haven House Children’s Hospice, a charity that supports children with life-limiting or life-threatening illnesses.
“It was going to be my first ever half-marathon and I was excited to do it, so it was devastating when it was cancelled. I had put so much training in and it’s such a great cause I am running for, that I still wanted to do it any way I could,” said Hustler.
Unfortunately, due to the coronavirus pandemic, the event had to be cancelled.
Post the cancellation, the organisers encouraged all the runners to be creative and finish this run by mapping their own local landmarks for a solo run. Initially, Hustler wanted to do this, but he faced another problem. His girlfriend Chole Skerritt had developed a fever and cough the week before, due to which both of them were self-isolating.
Despite this, Sam wanted to finish his run and began running his half-marathon by completing 5,000 laps in the balcony of his flat. He came across a video of a man in Italy who finished an entire marathon in his balcony and Hustler thought he would should do the same! At first, he tested it with a 2-kilometre run and, once successful, decided to go ahead.
With Skerritt cheering on him, Hustler finished this run in three hours accompanied by the views from his third-floor apartment located in South Woodford at Essex.
For Haven House Children’s Hospice
Being an amateur cricket player, Hustler had never run for more than 11 miles but he wanted to do his best for this charity and trained extensively for the same. He expressed his desire for wanting to honour his commitment to raising money for the Haven House Children’s Hospice.
“I really wanted to do it for Haven House and raise as much money as possible.”
“They have been going since 1990 and they have just put up an emergency appeal for funding. All their fundraising events have been cancelled and their charity shops have had to close, which was a major source of their income,” said Hustler.
Hustler has closely seen the work of this charitable organization earlier and was very impressed by their spirits to contribute to society. He added that the charity believes in the best life possible for every child and is absolutely amazing.
Hustler planned to raise $620 for Haven House but ended up raising more than $2400 after finishing this run in his balcony!
Isn’t this truly amazing? Do let us know what you thought of Hustler’s run in the comments section below.
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